Team AZRE
by RlyehianWanderer
Summary: "Follow Team AZRE through their adventures in Remnant as they attend Haven Academy and begin their lives as Huntresses in training." This is an original story taking place sometime between Team STRQ's break up and Team RWBY's creation as a frame of reference. This story focuses on the original characters in this world, while some old faces may come up intermediately.
1. Chapter 1: Azure Skies

Chapter 1: Azure Skies

A warm breeze blew through the old graveyard, gently comforting the lone figure standing near the back, dressed in a formal black suit. The girl placed a white tulip on top of one of the plots, her eyes red and damp, and stared quietly at the tomb in front of her.

"Hey, Dad. I brought you one of those white flowers you loved so much, I know you always said they reminded you of Mom." She paused for a moment, waiting for a response that would never come.

Spots wet the ground as a few tears fell from her cheek. After a few moments she wiped her eyes and looked back at the grave. "I got accepted to Haven Academy a few days ago. I'm going to be gone for a while, so I came to say goodbye for now."

She knelt down, her brown feathered wings laying limp on her back, hovering just above the ground. Her black pants collected dirt as she cleaned off the mossy grave, "I'll be back after I become a Huntress." She gave a last dusting and stood up, turning away from the headstone. "Say hi to Mom for me."

Azure Neomea grabbed her large, wrapped claymore off the front gate and slung her pack around her shoulder, being careful not to restrict her wing. After a few steps, her wings spread wide and a dim blue circle flickered around her before she leapt off the ground and flew towards her home.

She landed just outside her house a few minutes later. It stood in a small clearing in the woods just outside of town. She savored the view of the house before she walked onto the welcome mat. She hesitated briefly before reaching for the knob entering the living room. After she collected herself, she walked in.

"I'm home!" she called silently into the room. No response came from the living room. She peeked inside to see her grandfather sleeping peacefully in his rocking chair, his short sword leaning against the wall next to him. Azure walked past him and into her room, making sure not to make too much noise.

She practically tore the restrictive clothing off her body and pulled on her normal clothes. "Ah, so much better." She stretched her wings freely and grabbed her suitcase.

Azure looked in her bedroom mirror one last time. Her auburn hair was still messy and windswept from the flight, just the way she liked it. The backless, blue crop top she wore let her large wings stretch without rubbing on any fabric and bared part of her midriff which led down to her grey capris. She equipped a bullet belt that held numerous large shells around her waist, slightly crooked and nodded in satisfaction.

She stretched her arms and wings with a content sigh and left her room for the final time after grabbing a small, charred box and slipped it into the side pocket of her bag. Just in front of the main door, Azure took the key out of the little clay bowl and walked back to the sleeping man in the chair.

"Hey, Gramps." She placed her hand on his shoulder, while holding the sword from the wall in the other.

The man exploded to life and immediately grabbed for his sword. "Huh?" he grasped a couple times, finding nothing but air, until he finally looked up. "Oh, Azure. Good morning, Moonlight." He yawned and squinted at the clock. "You were supposed to wake me several hours ago." He motioned for his sword. "And you shouldn't take an old man's cane like that, I should be calling elder abuse."

"Yeah, yeah." She tossed him the sword without much grace, "If I hadn't taken your cane." She gave air quotes, "I would have been the one abused." Her grandpa gave a chuckle and stood up.

"You know fully well you can beat me in a fight now." He smacked her on the leg with the flat of the sword, "Although your guard still needs work. You're always so full of openings."

Azure rubbed her leg in exaggerated pain, "And you know full well I was only able to beat you a few weeks ago. You may be older now, but you're not exactly old enough to feign weakness." She attempted to give him a slap back, but was parried swiftly.

"See, you're too predictable. Remember to work on that while you're in Haven." He walked Azure to the main door with his hands behind his back, not leaning on his "cane" at all.

"I know. I'll have plenty of people to spar with. You don't have to worry about me improving." She opened the front door and placed her suitcase outside. "I'll leave the spare keys in the pot outside, in case your senile butt gets locked out again." she said, jangling the keys in front of him.

"I left the keys in town once! I'm not senile yet missy. And I'm not only talking about your fighting abilities." He smacked her lightly on the back of the head. "You be good out in Haven, OK? I'll be watching for any tournaments or broadcasts of your fights and heroism while you're gone." He hugged her close, giving a slightly stronger than usual hug. "And go make some friends for goodness sake!"

"I'll be sure to tell you all about my escapades in Haven, Gramps." She hugged back strongly as well, holding back tears. "And just because I don't have any friends here, doesn't mean I'm hopeless! They just don't understand us, you know that." She relaxed her hold a bit, "I'll see you around, OK?"

"I'll be here, my brilliant moonlight." The old man released his grasp on her and took a step back. "I love you, so much." He looked at her with such pride she had never witnessed before.

"I know. I love you too, you old coot." She smiled, letting a tear pass through her waning willpower. She grabbed her bag and sword and turned away from the door.

The closed the door behind her and she heard the door slowly lock behind her. She took the keychain of a baby brown owl off the key ring and stored the spare key inside the pot next to the doormat. The owl hooked onto a zipper on her bag where is made a slight jingle each time she took a step. Azure looked at it with sad eyes before she started walking towards town.

After only a few minutes of walking on the forest path, Azure came to a large, wooden sign that read, "Welcome to Tsukihana!" Past the sign were several wooden cabins scattered around, most were markets and smithies with a single Dust shop in the center next to the leader's home.

She walked past all of her usual hangouts and training areas before finally coming to the transport station. There were a few glares towards her, maybe a few whispers just outside her range, but not much more than that. She was used to the disgusted stares and chatter by now.

Azure rubbed the keychain through her fingers as she waited for the airship to land. She rested on her weapon that stood around five feet, only six inches shorter than herself, and found the arrival times on her scroll. She checked the time and impatiently tapped her foot for the remainder of the thirty minutes.

A modest wooden airship rumbled into the boarding zone and she stepped on after sliding her card through the reader. Once the ship was moving again, she put her earbuds in and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in.

"Goodbye Tsukihana. Hello new life in Haven." She closed her eyes and slept the length of the trip heading towards Haven Academy.

Near the middle of the trip, Azure woke up to a pair of eyes watching her from the seat next to her. The girl was obviously bothered by something going by her glances. She awkwardly kept her head facing forward while taking nervous glances over to her. She was sitting near the edge of the seat because of Azure's poor sleeping posture on the seat.

The girl was wearing a bright red vest with flames sewn into it over a sarashi, and her extremely flashy orange and red skirt was reflecting some of the light from the window onto Azure's face, making her squint a little. She noticed scars that littered her tan torso and arms, most of which looked like various sizes of burns and cuts. She caught herself looking at her long ashen grey hair and vibrant pink eyes for longer than she'd admit.

Azure sighed and sat up straight, making more room for the girl next to her to sit properly, instead of nearly half off her seat. The girl jumped at her motion and froze, not daring to take another glance in her direction.

"You could have woken me up if you were that uncomfortable, you know." Azure said through a yawn.

The girl scooted slightly towards her, "Eh," she gave a shrug, "I didn't want to be rude, plus you looked like you needed the sleep." The girl was about the same age as Azure and seemed to be losing her awkwardness as she spoke.

"I'm usually a light sleeper, guess you were right about me needing that sleep." She gave an inward stretch, "It's been a busy week, I guess." She kicked her feet out slightly and touched something on the ground, she assumed it was her bag and payed it no mind.

She jumped slightly at the words and attempted to regain her composure. "Are you…" the girl next to her looked to her weapon and back to her, "Going to Haven too?" Her voice was uneasy as she spoke, despite her more relaxed posture.

"Yep, just got the news yesterday. I'm going to officially be a Huntress in training after a few more days." Azure looked at the girl's face trying to get a read on her. "How about you?"

"Ah, I'm the same. Just flew in from Menagerie and had a transfer in a small town a bit south of here." She shook her head and gave a smile. Reaching out her hand and finally looking her in the eyes she spoke, "I'm Zinnia. I guess this makes us classmates. Or colleagues. Whatever people at academies are called."

Azure accepted the handshake with a strong grip, "Azure." She realized she put a little too much force on her shake and smiled apologetically when she let go. Zinnia's face was still nervous and she kept fidgeting every so often. "Is… something the matter? You look troubled."

"Um… I couldn't keep my tail in the aisle." She shifted uncomfortably, "So I had to move in towards you and you keep tapping it with your feet."

Azure looked down in confusion and found a skinny black salamander tail trailing over to her side over her feet. "Oh! How did I not notice that?" She shifted her position in order to give her tail more room. Zinnia stiffened when she moved her tail, but relaxed once she made proper room for her. "Sorry about that! I know what it's like having a trait that gets in the way." She only had to extend her wings slightly before she ran out of room on the seat and pulled them back in.

There was a small gasp from beside her, "What are you talking about? Those are beautiful! Though I'm not sure if having the ability to fly can be worse than a tail." Zinnia pointed to her tail, "This thing just gets in the way. It's also very sensitive, making it really hard to move around cramped spaces like these."

"Just one of the perks of being a Faunus, am I right? My wings are pretty sensitive too and they are hard to take care of, but, you're right, flying is a pretty great ability to have." Azure grinned at her new friend.

"So what's your story then?" Zinnia asked, now much less fidgety, "You from far away?"

"I lived in a small village called Tsukihana, it's pretty far southwest. Only a few miles off the coast actually." Azure looked back out the window, "This will be my first time in the city. Any city really."

"You've never left your village? I mean, I never left Menagerie, but that's a bit different considering the whole island thing." Zinnia was leaning over to her side more, talking a bit quieter to avoid eavesdroppers.

"My father wanted to make sure I could fend for myself before I left. He told me I couldn't leave until I mastered my Semblance, at least." She poked her sword, "And he helped me make this thing. He was a master gunsmith, and he shared all his little secrets with me."

"He sounds like a pretty strong guy then, huh?"

"Yeah, he was." Azure thought back to the grave and looked out the window to try and take her mind off it.

"Oh… I'm sorry." Zinnia deflated a little, "I'll uh, shut up now."

"No, no." Azure looked back to Zinnia's eyes. "This trip is boring with no one to talk to, and now it's your turn to tell me your story." She motioned to her longsword resting beside her. "And why your sword has eight different triggers on it."

"Ha!" she laughed loudly, "Noticed that one did ya?" She pat her sword with a cocky smile, "I won't reveal any details just yet, in case we end up in a fight sometime, but you have a good eye, girl."

"Touché. Then your story?"

"Oh I'm just a simple dancer looking for some extra excitement by becoming a Huntress." She waved over her attire, "Want to take a guess at what kind of dancing?"

"Ballroom dancing? Seems like a spicy dance to pair with those clothes." She smirked, obviously teasing her.

"You are absolutely correct, I guess my attire didn't throw you off as I expected." Zinnia deadpanned.

"Well, I'd love to see some _sparks_ in your _fiery_ little Waltz sometime." Azure suddenly yawned again.

"If you keep those puns up I'll Waltz you right out that window." she gave a more genuine smile now, "But seriously, you should come see me dance sometime. It'll be fun to watch, I bet my pride on it."

"Hmm, OK." She brought out her scroll, "How about we exchange info?"

"I guess we ought to. How else would you be able to be mystified by my performance?" She grabbed her own scroll and made a new contact. "Full name? In case I run into another Azure out there?"

"Azure Neomea." She spelled it for her and gave her number as well. "And yours? In case I run into another Zinnia who likes to Waltz?"

"Heh, keep saying that and you won't be invited to my next show." She finished her settings for her contact and put away her scroll. "Ashbell. Or you could just put "smokin' hot" instead, I wouldn't mind."

"OK, your nickname is Smokin' Hot now." Azure showed her scroll to Zinnia.

"Woah, really?" There it was, in the nickname box of the contact.

"Yeah, why not? You don't like being called that? I could call you "Hotness" or "Dancin' Flower" instead?"

"N-no, keep it like that." She gave an embarrassed cough and focused on her hands to avoid any more embarrassment. "Just getting used to making new friends I guess. Although I should find something clever for you now." She hummed for a bit, thinking deeply. "Argh, I can't think of anything on the spot. It'll come to me just you wait!"

"Well, while you wait for your epiphany, how about you keep telling me about Menagerie? I've lived in my village all my life and haven't had much contact with any other Faunus. What's it like living over there?"

"Cramped, first of all." Zinnia was still trying to come up with a name. "It's a quiet city, I guess, mostly peaceful Faunus who live together just like any other city. I doubt there's much else to say that you wouldn't learn from a history book."

"I see." Azure sounded slightly disappointed.

"Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful place to see, and the perfect place to practice my craft." Zinnia seemingly gave up on her thoughts with a sigh and looked back to Azure, "You gotta help me out here. I gave you a nickname for me, how about you throw me a bone?"

"Hmm… Usually my nicknames refer to the moon, a family tradition if you would. You cannot use Moonlight though, as a warning. That one's reserved."

"Got it." She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, "How about… Moonbeam? Moonshine? This is harder than I thought it was."

Azure laughed. "You'll figure it out."

"Hey, you know how Haven's team system works right?" Zinnia asked a bit more serious.

"Kind of. They give a test and pair people up based on the test, then sort us into teams of four."

"Right. If you don't mind, want to try to fight for my team?" Zinnia looked at her sword in nervousness.

"You barely know me, and you want to team up immediately?" Azure thought about it. "Any reason besides I'm the first person you met?"

"Uh… You seem nice enough. I can tell you're strong just by looking at you. If we teamed up I would have another Faunus friend to share my rants about my tail."

"Hmm, well," Azure said, watching Zinnia's face falter under the hesitance, "If it is within my power, I will try my best to get you on my team."

Zinnia looked up. Her nervous expression replaced by a happy one, "Oh, thank you! It feels good to be able to have someone on my side already. I wasn't sure how many Faunus there are in Mistral and I didn't know what I'd do if I were with a team of three Humans… Not that Humans are bad, it's just…"

"Breathe, Zinnia, take a moment." Azure gave a deep breath for her to mimic, "I get it, I do. Even if we do get separated, we'll still hang out, yeah?"

Zinnia gave a sigh of relief, "Thank you. That's all I needed to hear." She stared into Azure's eyes for a moment before she coughed again to break the awkward silence. "So what are you gonna do when we get there?"

"We have a day before orientation, right? I'll get a good look at the city first. Then, after orientation we'll probably be sleeping in the lobby. I'm a bit of a night owl myself," Zinnia looked at her with an amused face, "No pun intended. So I'll be up for a bit before I can sleep again, especially after the nap I just had."

"How about I show you a dance then? I'll do it just for you, in honor of our budding friendship." She gave a wink. "I could set one up tonight if we find a nice spot, if you don't mind looking around with me."

"I'd love to see it! Nothing interesting ever happened in my village. They were a bunch of rugged workers, no imagination or flair in anything they did."

"Then it's settled. We'll take a stroll and find a quiet place to make the flames dance for you."

"I thought it was a Waltz?" Azure feigned confusion.

"Not funny." Zinnia pretend scoffed, "I would never lower myself to such a tedious plod! I only live for the thrilling things in life."

"Well I can certainly… relate…" Azure looked past Zinnia to a group of people gathering around one of the windows whispering about something outside. "What are they looking at? I don't think we're at Haven yet, right?"

Zinnia shrugged, "Maybe it's a battleship? People love staring at those things."

There was a collective gasp from the group and panic as they all tried desperately to move away from the window. The wood on the side crunched and creaked as the airship buckled under some large force outside. Azure looked out her window after she helped Zinnia off of her.

Outside were a flock of large black bird Grimm. Making a quick count, Azure grabbed her weapon and stood up. "Damn it." She looked to Zinnia, "Nevermore. Six of them." Azure started moving past her to the aisle.

Zinnia grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?!"

"Giving my wings a stretch." Zinnia moved her hand to Azure's shoulder. "I'll be fine. Tell the pilot that I'll try and gain their attention while you get out. And tell him to open the back doors. This thing is not built for fighting, and I doubt it can take many more hits."

"And what about you? Those aren't small Nevermore, I don't know many that could take on more than one at a time, much less six! And how would you catch up after the battle?"

"I can take them, or I can hide in the forest if I get outmatched. Besides, I'm sure the pilot will radio for backup, I'll hitch a ride with them when they show up, or I'll just have to fly to the next station."

Azure grasped Zinnia's hand, taking it off her shoulder, "Protect the ship. Calm these people down, or they'll attract more. I'll meet you during orientation, OK?" She dropped her hand and ran towards the back room closing the shutters behind her.

"You'd better! I'm still working on that nickname!" Zinnia called after her before rushing to the pilot's seat.

Azure unwrapped her sword slowly, waiting for the doors to open. The golden edged claymore shone even in the dark lighting of the room. As the doors slid apart she spread her wings fully and cast a blue circle around her and her weapon. She took a deep breath and leapt out the back, dodging the engine's fire and catching a breeze to keep her steady in the air.

"Come get me you damn crows!" Her weapon split down the middle and released a smaller short sword from its grasp, leaving a hollow, bident-like sword in one hand and a shorter, lighter sword in the other. Electricity flowed through the larger sword in wavy lines between the two sections and Azure loaded a large shell into the hilt from her belt.

The Nevermore charged at Azure predictably, attracted to the smaller target. Three dove off their path to the ship and glided towards her at increasing speeds, all from different angles.

Azure looked over her sword affectionately, "Come on Stella, let's show them what we've got." The sword charged for a few seconds creating a low rumble in the air. She felt the charge radiate onto her skin as it finished.

A bolt of lightning crashed out of the gun, cleaving one of the Nevermore in half. The recoil sent her backwards into the one behind her. She effortlessly plunged the short sword into its head, cracking the mask open. Both dissolved simultaneously in a black mist.

The third Grimm blew through the mist, coming from above. It came out shrieking in pain from the wing it lost while it was blinded by the mist before dissolving as well.

Azure watched the airship slowly drift away from her, leaving her behind as she told them to. She felt a buzz from her scroll. "Not now, I'm concentrating." She pushed the thought aside, knowing it was probably from Zinnia.

The sound of large trees snapping below her caused her to fly higher to assess the threat. "Did I say six?" Three more Nevermore rose from the forest below her, each one circled below patiently, waiting for their chance to strike while the original three circled above. "Alright, just six more, easy." She looked back to the struggling airship and found it hadn't gotten too far. Its engines on the damaged side were now spewing out a light trail of smoke.

She sighed and readied her weapons. Loading another shell into her claymore. She pulled a small lever and released the heat from the first blast by opening some cooling vents on the hilt. The sound of charging electricity sped up as the vents closed and the railgun primed for a second shot.

"Let's have a little fun shall we?" She flew into the bottom of an unsuspecting Nevermore and gave the stomach a few slashes, wounding, but not killing it. Disappointed with her result, she kicked off the large bird and ran her sword through the oncoming Grimm from below, slitting its neck. The momentum of the corpse sent it crashing into the wounded one, killing both.

"Four more." She saw two birds crossing paths and took aim, shooting a large streak of energy directly though both, ending one in an instant, while the other plummeted to the ground.

"Two." A shriek came from behind as feathers flew past her, a couple clipping her sides and legs. Her aura held out, but was draining fast from her fighting. Angered, Azure flew into the assailant's neck, dodging the second volley of feathers. It clawed at her in a savage fury.

Several strikes managed to crack through her aura field and cut her in several places. It finally dissolved, after landing a few more gashes on her. "One." She panted out, exhausted from the constant flight and exertion of aura. She quickly scanned and found the Grimm following after the airship, ignoring the fight behind it.

"Oh no you don't!" she vented her gun and flew at the bird in a last sprint of her energy. Catching up to it, still a bit behind the struggling airship.

She stabbed her short sword into the back of the Nevermore, stalling its progress and dropping its altitude. "Where… do… you… think… you're… going?" she yelled through gritted teeth as she climbed up the back of the Grimm, stabbing the full length of each sword after each word. She reached the head of the bird and slammed her sword through its head.

The sword slipped and only grazed the mask. It shrieked and spun over, slapping Azure one last time with its wing, finally breaking her aura. She made a final push towards its head and slashed the head several times until it finally stopped moving. The Grimm dissolved with a dramatic tailspin, leaving Azure gasping for breath, both blue circles faded into nothing.

"Oof! This is heavy without my Semblance." She flapped harder as she loaded another round into her gun. Watching the ship in the distance. She placed her short sword under her arm and pulled out her scroll.

Sure enough, there was a message from Zinnia _. "If moonlight is taken, how do you feel about Starlight?_ " She lowered herself near the top of the forest canopy, starting to feel fatigued from the extra weight. Azure chuckled and started typing a response.

As she looked down through the semi-transparent screen, she saw a Nevermore with a hole in its wing bursting out from below the forest's cover. "Shit!" She dropped her scroll and grabbed for her swords, but it was too late. The Grimm bit down on Azure's right side and tossed her around until it lost its height from the jump and fell back down.

Both figures tumbled into the darkness below. A railgun blast shot out from under the leaves and the land fell silent, save for the distant hum of a fleeing airship.


	2. Chapter 2: Solemn Flames

Chapter 2: Solemn Flames:

Zinnia exited the cockpit and entered the back room equipped with binoculars and her weapon. From the windows on the doors she caught the deaths of the first few Grimm, seeing a fading streak of light from the first railgun shot.

A cloud of black mist obscured her vision as she tried to locate Azure in the fray. A Nevermore raced through the cloud and came out the other end with its wing lopped off. Zinnia gave a whistle of astonishment. "Glad I'm on her good side."

She typed a message into her scroll and sent it to her. _When she types back, I can relax. She said can handle this… Right?_ She thought to herself, resisting the urge to pace.

After a few moments of watching the battle, the ship creaked and a piece of the siding peeled off the side. She pushed the coms button on the side wall, tearing her eyes from the battle to assess the damage on the side of the ship. "What was that?" she asked the pilot.

"Some of the protective shielding is ripping off the sides. It did its job, but we can't take another hit like that." There was a pause before he spoke again, "Are we in the clear?"

"It seems like she's drawing them away. We should be good." She had a bad feeling in her gut. Walking back to the window to take a peek, she witnessed three more burst out of the trees below her.

"Alright, she needs help." She pressed the button again. "Open the doors, I'm going after her."

"Absolutely not. We're moving too fast and you can't fly. You're better off here protecting the ship and the passengers in case we get a straggler."

She grumbled, knowing he was right and brought the binoculars to her face.

She had missed two more kills, seeing the death mist rise from falling corpses, but was just in time to witness a second shot from the railgun. She watched as two more Grimm dropped in sync. "She wasn't kidding, I think she'll be able to pull this off!"

The ship shook violently and Zinnia lost her balance, falling onto the ground. She reached up for the button as she got back up. "And that was?"

"Engine cut out for a bit." The pilot said like it was unimportant. "Even if that one goes, we have enough power left to get us to the nearest landing site, don't worry about it."

"Oh no, I would never worry about an engine failure on an airship." She sassed back before ending the communication. She looked back outside, trying to ignore the possibility of a crash and was greeted by a close-up of a Nevermore's beak.

Zinnia stumbled back, startled, and readjusted the zoom. She readied her weapon, thinking that one slipped past Azure while she was fighting, until it stalled. Its mouth opened in what she could only imagine was a shriek of pain and it flailed around.

On the back of the Nevermore was Azure, striking deep wounds into its back and climbing up to the head. Zinnia cheered until the wing slapped her down a few feet.

Her blue aura shattered and the rings around her faded, but the battle was over after she landed a flurry of strikes and slashes. Zinnia gave a shaky breath as she watched her sink down to the forest's level. She quickly pressed the button, still watching Azure through the binoculars. "Hey! Our stalkers are gone, do you think we can swing by and pick her up?"

""We barely have enough power to get us to the next transfer station. We can't afford to go back now, sorry kid." There were muffled sounds from another radio in the cockpit. "The cavalry is coming for her soon, don't worry, she'll be fine."

Right as she was about to walk back to the cockpit, she saw a wounded Nevermore leap out of the forest and grab Azure by its mouth before pulling her into the trees below.

"Azure!" She slammed her hand on the talk button, "Open the doors!" Zinnia screamed in panic.

"What happ-", he was cut off by Zinnia punching the wall.

"Open the doors now!" Zinnia yelled more commanding this time, "She just got pulled under by one of them!"

"Kid, how will you get down? Like I said, we're flying too fast!"

A ray of lightning shot out from under the cover of the leaves and nearly grazed the ship.

"I have a landing strategy," she said urgently, "Just open the doors before I blast them open!"

The doors sprang to life and slowly creaked open. "Good luck down there." The pilot offered, unsure of what else to say.

"Just make sure these people get to where they need to be, and I'll make sure she makes it too." There was an affirmative grunt before the radio cut off and Zinnia jumped out, pulling out her sword and pressing the back lever on the hilt.

The wind rushed past her as she dropped faster and faster towards the ground. Her sword separated into smaller sections tied together by a heavy wire. She emptied out the fire dust that was pre-loaded into the hilt and added gravity rounds to the clip for extra recoil.

Zinnia twirled the sword in a circular pattern and it locked into place at the base of the hilt where it surrounded her body as a hoop. Near the bottom of the drop, she unloaded multiple rounds as she spun the hoop around her body, releasing the shots as the segment was facing the ground. After she was close enough to the forest canopy, she detached the hoop and waited for the trees to come into range.

As the forest gained on her, Zinnia whipped her sword around a limb and turned the sword into the regular configuration, pulling her horizontally into the trees. She did a single flip around the large branch and fell to the floor.

Zinnia held her head and fell to a knee, "Ugh. I hate using gravity rounds." She steadied herself and ran towards the last shot of the railgun as fast as she could.

She decapitated some small Grimm that were roaming in the forest and reloaded her fire dust into her weapon again. "Come on, give me a sign Azure." She frantically looked around, searching for signs of a crash or some wreckage from the railgun blast.

She jumped up a tree and looked around from the top, looking for the crash area by the hole made in the canopy. Her target was close, but not close enough for her taste. She began sprinting in that direction again.

"Please, please be okay…" She tapped her scroll open with her free hand and called Azure's scroll, hoping she would pick up. She heard a ringtone in a nearby bush. She reached in to find a damaged but functioning scroll with her number calling it.

Panicking, Zinnia searched the area thoroughly, looking for any more signs of the fight. She tried with all her might to not call out to her yet. If there are Grimm nearby they would find her first, and calling to an unconscious or dead body would be pointless.

She pushed the "dead" part of that thought away, trying to stay positive. After a few more minutes of searching she found a splintered tree close by. Giving a silent prayer, she darted towards the tree and gasped at what she found.

In the center of the small clearing made by the crashing Nevermore was Azure lying face down in the dirt, her railgun near her outstretched arm and her short sword imbedded in a tree behind her. She was a bloody mess, mostly from the superficial scratches and gouges, but one thing kept Zinnia's immediate attention as she stared at her in horror.

Her wing was bent backwards, probably broken a couple of times, and her outstretched arm seemed out of its socket. "Azure!" Zinnia finally called out as she ran to her side. She collapsed next to her and felt for her pulse. Her skin was already cold and pale, contrasted by the warm, bloodstained mud underneath her.

"Hang in there Azure, I've got you." She felt a very slight beat coming from her neck and Zinnia let out a shaky breath. "You're going to be fine, I'm gonna get you out of here." She flipped Azure's body over slowly, remembering some basic medical training she learned back in Menagerie, and saw her face covered in bloody mud from a head wound near her temple.

She wiped the blood off as best she could and put her head on her lap. Zinnia pulled out her scroll and turned to a radio broadcast, searching for any of the backup that was promised before. "Mayday, Mayday! I am broadcasting on the emergency frequency, does anybody copy?"

After a few moments of hearing nothing, she repeated the message for several minutes, hoping someone would call back.

Her scroll crackled with new voices, "This is Heron Three, responding to an emergency broadcast, state your name and location."

"This is Zinnia Ashbell. I have a wounded Faunus girl here who needs immediate medical attention, her wing is broken and has sustained large amounts of blood loss. I am directly below in the forest, I will shoot a flare marking our location."

Zinnia engaged her weapon and fired a large fire round into the sky, lighting up the area with an intense beacon. The light and sound from the shot got a stir out of Azure. She moved her head to the side and gave a pained moan.

She mumbled in her sleep just quiet enough for Zinnia to make out three words, "Promise… sorry… Dad…"

A few moments later the airship arrived and took her in a stretcher. The medical team started working on her wing and hooked her up to an IV while the rest of the wounds were cleaned and bandaged.

"What happened to her?" One of the medical staff asked Zinnia, "She looks like she tried to fistfight an Ursa."

"It wasn't an Ursa. It was a Nevermore." She didn't look away from Azure as she spoke, "Nine of them."

"Nine!?" The nurse exclaimed, having to stop bandaging for a second to get over his shock. He resumed working, giving her a thumbs up when he was done with the treatment.

"Winged Faunus usually don't fly too much. Their bodies and weapons are too heavy and the strain is tremendous on their back." Zinnia looked at him in confusion, unsure of where he was going with this.

He motioned to her wing which was now in the correct orientation and wrapped in a temporary splint. "Her wings are strong, they were mostly dislocated, like her shoulder, but a few of the bones did fracture."

Zinnia nodded, "I thought she was dead when I found her." She grabbed her hand and squeezed softly. "She was so cold when I found her."

"That's from the blood loss and falling unconscious in the woods." He made a few scratches in his notepad with a reassuring smile. "She's pretty banged up, but with how fast Aura heals you Huntresses, I'm sure she'll be normal in a couple of weeks."

"We aren't Huntresses, we're still students." She wouldn't look away from her sleeping face.

"Same difference. If she's good enough to fight nine Nevermore alone, she has plenty of Aura to heal her back up." He looked at her still worried expression, "In short, she's going to be fine."

"Thank the gods." Zinnia sighed.

"I'll leave you two to get some rest. The airship that hailed us is sending your belongings to Haven Academy where Professor Lionheart will keep good care of them until you arrive." He stepped out of the medical bay and towards the cockpit, "Once we land, we'll get her to a hospital to get her formally checked out and she'll be walking around in a couple of days like nothing happened. Except for the broken wing, of course."

"It's okay for me to stay here, right?"

The nurse laughed, "Yes, you can stay here. She'll probably be confused if she wakes up. If she does, just keep her calm and don't let her use her wings." He left them alone and closed the pilot door behind him.

Zinnia continued to hold her hand and wait for her to wake up, eager for her to talk and be as lively as she was on the ship.

Nearly a half an hour later, Azure slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey sleepy." Zinnia almost choked out as she wiped a tear away. "I thought you weren't tired after that nap of yours."

"Zinnia?" Azure looked around and tried to sit up, only to be held down by Zinnia's hand. "Where am I?" She still sounded distant while she woke up.

"You're in an airship heading to Haven. That last Nevermore did a number on you, so stay in bed for now and try not to move your wing."

Azure let her head fall down on the pillow, "Damnit. I let my guard down… again." she turned her head to meet Zinnia's gaze. "How bad is my wing?"

"It was pretty messed up, Azure, you were pretty messed up." She sounded serious, "Your right wing was fractured in several places and dislocated in every joint possible. Your shoulder was dislocated and you lost a lot of blood."

Azure felt a pat on her head and she closed her eyes. "Why are you here in this ship? I thought you were going to wait for me at Haven?"

"I kind of abandoned ship once I saw you get nearly eaten." She was still looking at her seriously, "I thought you died out there."

"Takes more than that to- Ow!" She felt a pinch on her arm from Zinnia. "What was that for?"

"Don't say that." She said, eyes shimmering with some tears. "That _was_ enough to kill you! If I hadn't gone back to find you, you would have been eaten by a Beowolf while you were lying face down in the mud!"

"I know." Azure reached for Zinnia's hand again. "Thank you for getting me out of there. I can only hope to repay you someday…"

"You can start by not diving into a suicidal battle right after we get to know each other!" she held onto her hand, "Are you okay?" Her anger over her recklessness dissipated when she felt it tremble in her grasp.

"I will be, just give me a moment." She looked away, embarrassed by her pitiful state, "I usually have a good grasp on my abilities, but I may have gotten a bit cocky there."

"Ya think?!" Zinnia said in just below a yell, "Even if we just met, you could have trusted me a little more. We're both students of around equal strength. Even if you _could_ take them all on, you could let your partner take some of the load off you." Zinnia continued her rant before Azure could retaliate. "How could you just leave someone like that?! If you're going to be a Huntress, you're gonna want to figure out how to fight as a team! That's all I ask of you in the future, okay?" Zinnia finished with a sigh and waited for Azure to respond.

"I'm sorry. Truthfully, I've never fought in a team effort before." Azure confessed. "It was either my Grandfather or me protecting the village. I always fought against more than one foe, but never with anyone by my side."

"You two were the only ones who could fight?"

"No, but we did anyway." Azure gave a shrug, "It's a long story, and I'll tell it when I'm not fighting to stay awake." She shook her head to stay lucid against the drugs.

Zinnia looked concerned. "If you need to rest, then rest."

"No. I just have a few more things to say." She took a breath as Zinnia nodded. "My father taught me a lot when I was still training with him. I was taught to fight without mercy. I was taught how to survive by myself. And above all else, I was taught to never rely on others for help in a battle." Azure frowned, "I was not taught how to fight with others. I was not taught how to interact with others. I was not taught how to make friends, or how to stay with them."

"That's bullshit! You should know by now that fighting alone is not always the answer. Teammates, comrades, friends. We keep each other safe and we help carry the burden of our lives by standing by each other, never by abandoning them!" Zinnia was starting to fume again.

Azure put up her hand, "I know. I've always known that he was wrong, at least on those points." She winced as she pulled her hand back, the drugs not fully masking the pain, "I learned later that my father pushed those teachings on me because of what happened to my mother."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." Zinnia knew she was pushing her question, but she was curious.

"She died trying to save my dad from a group of Grimm. He got injured trying to protect her, and she died trying to protect him back." She sighed, remembering the day he came home with the news, "After that he shut down. He stopped smiling, started training me to fight, and was obsessed over making sure I could survive on my own." She felt empty as she spoke, tired of recounting the memories, "He died a few years back. Bandits attacked him after he fought with Grimm, alone. He never stood a chance. That's when I had to start reconsidering his teachings."

Azure looked at Zinnia with a face beaming with resolve. "I was taught wrong for so many years that it's second nature for me." Her eyes were drooping from exhaustion, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure, what 'cha want?"

"I want you to beat the things he got wrong out of my head." Her head fell slightly and she forced herself to stay awake a little longer. "I'm tired of being alone. I'm so tired of fighting alone. I want to share my strength with others! Will you help me, Zinnia Ashbell?"

"Ha! Of course I will, Azure Neomea!" She mimicked her tone in a way that was both teasing and serious, "That's what friends are for, right?" she pat her head again as she started nodding off. "In return, I want you to be my landing strategy next time. My method sucks, and apparently you can fly more than your own weight anyway, so… if you can do that for me, we're even." Zinnia was only slightly joking.

"Thank you." Azure managed to say before finally falling asleep.

Zinnia pet her head for a while longer, smiling at the situation, "No problem, Starlight… No, wait! I think I'll call you Comet!" she celebrated by herself silently. "I told you I would figure something out!"

The craft landed in Haven only an hour later. The EMT sent Azure to the hospital and the pilot sent Zinnia to the school to report to the professors what had happened.

With orientation only a day away, she worried if Azure would make it on time or have to make up the entrance exam somehow. She wandered into the academy before she stopped and realized where she was.

"I'm in Haven!" In her distress, she hadn't processed that she was at her destination. "I'll visit Azure tomorrow morning. For now, I need to give my report and start looking for some dancing spots!" She looked around at the sights as she walked towards the school, beaming with excitement and wonder. "I wonder who else we'll meet while we're here." She hummed to herself as she walked in the main lobby of the school and got directions to Lionheart's office.

The morning light illuminated the dim hospital room. Azure lay on a hospital bed, sleeping peacefully in her room. Her cuts were bandaged, her arm in a sling, and her wing was in a proper cast. Her IV hung near her, dripping the sugar water solution down the tube connected to her arm. The heartbeat monitor beeped subtlety to the beat of her heart.

The door in her room closed without a sound, blinds closed on the windows, and a couple uneven footsteps could be heard walking around the room. The IV she was equipped with filled with a pale yellow liquid which flowed into her body. She unconsciously squirmed as the liquid spreading throughout her body.

Her heartbeat monitor made one erratic beep before it was unplugged by the man in a trench coat standing over her. Azure let out several gasps of discomfort while she writhed around on the bed. Once the fluid was administered, the man simply hooked up the original IV fluid and turned towards the door.

He limped out of her room, taking off his gloves and tossing them in the bin in the hall. He exited the building, passing by a Faunus girl dressed in bright red clothes and disappeared into the crowd.


	3. Chapter 3: An Unpleasant Morning

Chapter 3: Haven Academy: An Unpleasant Morning.

 _Beep._

A machine sounded near Azure, but she couldn't figure out where.

 _Beep._

She was standing in the forest, alone. She looked around with narrow eyes, searching for the source of the source of the sound.

 _Beep._

A rustle in the bushes behind her caught her attention.

 _Beep-Beep._

She felt warm as the sun broke through the clouds above her. The bushes caught fire and the warmth turned to a fiery heat.

 _Beep-Beep._

The sun became brighter, illuminating the figure standing in the bush. A man stood staring at her, or at least he would have been. His face was featureless.

 _Beep-Beep-Be—_

The beeping stopped as the man took a slow step forward. Azure's heart exploded in pain as his foot touched the ground. Her entire body throbbed in pain with each step of the man. She clutched her chest and closed her eyes, the pain too much to stand.

 _"_ _Someone get help!"_

She heard a familiar voice, but couldn't focus on anything but her wounded body. A hand wrapped around her neck and her body was lifted off the ground. Azure opened her eyes to see the man tilting his head to one side.

 _"_ _Azure!"_

She gasped, short of breath as the man ran his free hand over her wounded wing and crushed it in his grasp.

 _"_ _Her heart stopped! Make room!"_

Another voice was heard, but she wasn't paying attention anymore. The man's face split open and revealed a Grimm-like interior. His skin turned black and rough while the inside of his mouth was as orange as the fires of Hell. She fell limp against the force, unable to resist. A black mist surrounded her body until she was encased in darkness.

" _AZURE!"_

She woke with a start. Sitting up fast and gasping for breath. Cold sweat dripped off her face as she took in her surroundings. Several figures backed away from her in shock.

"Azure!" Zinnia called out again. Her look of terror washed away and was replaced with relief.

Looking around, she saw three doctors and Zinnia standing around her, all looking at her with the same expressions.

The doctor on her left motioned for the other two to leave and they stepped out reluctantly. "We didn't know what happened to you. Your monitor was disconnected and you were flailing around on your bed in some serious pain." He spoke calmly as he guided her back to a resting position.

Her voice was hoarse as she tried to speak and she felt as though she just came out of an oven. "I had a nightmare…" She shivered as her body felt cold and nauseous. A warm hand grabbed hers.

Zinnia gave her hand a firm grip. "The doctors were baffled, they couldn't figure out what was happening to you. We thought you had a heart attack! Your heart just stopped beating for a bit." She looked her over, "Has this ever happened to you before?"

"N-no. I've always just healed like normal. Last time I was hurt this badly, I just needed some bedrest." She grasped her stomach, "Ugh, I feel sick."

"Last time?" Zinnia gave her a concerned glare.

The doctor interrupted her thought, "How do you feel? I'm still trying to piece together what happened."

"I feel like my body was on fire and I could desperately go for a glass of water. Other than that and my stomach feeling sick, I feel fine." She looked over her arms and cocked her head. "Actually, I think I feel great?"

The doctor looked down at her arm and probed it with his finger. After not getting a response from Azure he grabbed some scissors. "I'm going to remove your bandages over your arm." Azure let him cut them off and watched in amazement as most of her wounds were healed. Her shoulder felt fine, her minor cuts and bruises were gone, and she felt energized.

"I'm healed?" she tested her wing, but found it was still in pain, but not nearly as bad as it used to be. "That still doesn't work, but man does it feel better." She clutched her stomach again as a wave of nausea hit her again. "But this feeling in my gut is horrible."

"Well, your body just underwent a miracle… Does your semblance have any sort of healing properties?" The doctor asked checking multiple areas on her body. He checked her stomach and found a few more wounds, but most looked like she was scratched by a housecat.

"No, my semblance controls gravity. This is not my doing, I assure you." She felt the nausea pass again and accepted a glass of water from Zinnia. "Thanks."

Azure heard a clap from Zinnia, "Oh that's what those blue rings were…" Zinnia pondered in the corner. "How are you feeling, seriously? Don't go all machismo on me again, tell us the truth."

"I am! I feel fine, even the sickness is passing quicker." She sat up and stretched her arms and legs to show that she could move fine. "How long was I out?"

"Just overnight. This lady walked in this morning and found you flailing around." The doctor held up a small device. "I'm going to check your aura levels now."

He pulled out a scroll and placed a node on her forehead. The scroll flickered to life and showed that her aura was completely recovered. "How can that be? Even if it's been a day, it should be drained a little from all this healing it's doing." She looked back down to her stomach and found the small scratches from before were still healing.

"You seem to be generating aura. In fact, you're generating too much aura." The doctor took the node off, "try using your semblance or generating an aura field."

Azure focused and made a blue ring around her body. Instead of the faint, transparent circle, it was bright with tendrils of gold aura radiating off it. "Woah." She almost immediately broke it and made a horrible retching noise. "I don't have gold aura…" She said between breaths.

"I thought so…" The doctor made a note on his pad. "Something is producing aura in your body and spreading it into your own. There's a theory that when an individual has an overflow of aura they become sick and unstable until it normalizes."

"Is there such a thing?" Zinnia asked, rubbing Azure on the back.

"No. Souls are not capable of overloading with aura, but if there's something else creating a different aura then it could be causing an imbalance." He looked at Azure carefully, "I think you should be fine as long as you don't use aura for now, and while I should keep you here under watch, we couldn't find anything wrong with you."

"You're releasing me?" Azure tried to calm her stomach. "What about whatever is doing this to me?"

"If you start having a relapse, come back and we'll keep you under watch, for an extended period of time." He looked up at the clock, "But I figure you might want to get ready for orientation if you would like. Whatever is producing this phenomena doesn't seem to be harmful, even healing you back to near full in a matter of minutes."

"So, you think I'm fine?"

"No, I don't think you're fine." He smiled back at her, "But I'd be horrible if I didn't let you attend your first day as a Haven Academy student." He handed her a note, "Give this to Lionheart. He'll understand if you have to skip the first training mission, especially since you've already done a feat most students couldn't fathom of pulling off on their first day."

"But, what about team selection and..?"

"He'll work that out, don't worry. And if you don't feel better by tomorrow, come back to see me, or go to the school nurse to get checked out. You may be combat ready by tonight."

"Really?!" Azure's mood instantly brightened.

"But!" He snapped at her with a stern look, "If you don't think you are ready to go, don't go until you feel ready to." He cut her off again by holding up his finger, "This is not a formal checkout, but with all of the Grimm that have been appearing, we frankly don't have the capacity to take care of a healthy patient."

Zinnia was taken back by the sudden shift in mood. "So, you're just letting her leave after all that? Aren't you going to run some tests, or anything?"

"I would love to, however, if whatever is producing the aura reacts poorly to anything we do, it would be bad for both of us." He shrugged, "I'd say take it easy and hope it goes away once you're done healing. Like I said, we don't have the time or resources to look over this. Of course, if it persists come back and we'll try our best with what we have."

"Understood Doc!" Azure saluted with a smile and slid her legs off to the side of the bed.

The doctor handed Azure a small bag. "Here, use these if you need to release some Aura." She opened it to find dust crystals, "Dust is a good medium to send excess aura into, and it should be less taxing than using a Semblance." He waved his hand dismissing Zinnia's confused look, "Don't worry, these are not volatile. They are very low in power and aren't capable of harm." He pulled one out of his pocket and surged some aura into the crystal. It made a pop and vanished without a trace.

"Huh. Didn't know you could make dust with such low potency." Zinnia inspected it. "These could be useful for fire dancing…"

"Well, either way, just keep tabs on your aura and call us or the school if you start feeling any adverse effects." The doctor turned and walked to the door. "You have a change of clothes in the bathroom. Remember to sign out at the front before you leave."

And with that the doctor left the room.

"You are just a bundle of hell you know that?" Zinnia lightly punched her arm.

"Ow! You're striking poor old injured me!" she rubbed her arm in mock pain. "How could you abuse your friend like this?" she giggled and attempted to stand, immediately failing and falling back to the bed in dizziness.

"You ok there?"

"I just stood up too fast." She tried again and successfully stood. "Still a little dizzy, so don't go pulling me around just yet."

"Roger that. Get changed and let's leave this dreadful place."

"What? Don't you like hanging around a bunch of sick people and annoying beeping machines?" She called from the bathroom as she turned on the shower. "Give me a second to clean off, I don't take long showers."

"Fine. Wouldn't want you walking around all sweaty like that."

Only a few minutes later, Azure walked out and made a twirl dressed in her usual outfit. "Ooh. Still dizzy." She steadied herself on the wall.

"You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." She still sounded unsure, but at least her spirits were high.

They walked through the lobby and signed Azure out. She got a small bottle of pain meds and a couple bandages for her wing when they needed changing.

As they walked into the open air Azure stared wide eyed at her surroundings. "Talk about culture shock." She saw houses that climbed the walls, mighty waterfalls, and airships circling the skies. The modernization of the city was nothing compared to the small village she was from.

"I guess you haven't had time to look around yet." Zinnia pulled her arm, moving her out of the way of some incoming visitors. "I had the same reaction."

Azure stumbled forward and fell into Zinnia's arms, "Ugh, I said don't pull me yet!" she looked up to her face and stiffened a bit. "Heh, um… you're taller than I remember." She stood almost a full head taller than her.

"And you're adorably short." She said in a teasing voice.

Azure snapped out of her trance and stepped back. "Uh… thank you, by the way."

"For?" Zinnia was obviously enjoying this.

"For everything. Saving me, bringing me my clothes, checking on me in the hospital." Azure smiled, "I've never had anyone do that but family before. I'm lucky I found you first."

She stopped and turned away blushing from the compliment. "Yeah, I guess I'm pretty great. You are really lucky to have a friend shower you with her presence as much as I." She laughed and turned around. "And as much trouble as you've been, I'm glad I met you too."

There was an awkward silence as Zinnia took a step forward towards the school, "Come on, let's take a slow walk to the orientation and I'll show you some of the sights. After the introductions are over we can plan strategies to try and find each other for the team selection."

"Yeah! Let's go!" Azure hadn't felt this good for a long time. "Hey, did you get my weapon by chance?"

"Yeah, it's with your bag in the lobby next to mine." She smiled, "Sorry you had to show all of your tricks to me before we could fight. I'm still not sharing mine yet."

"Meh, it makes for a better fight when I have to figure it out… If we end up fighting anyway."

"Of course it does." Zinnia walked backwards as they talked, her tail moving from side to side to avoid being stepped on. "Hey, if you give me one of those red crystals I can show you some cool stuff later. I'm pretty good with dust you know."

"Ooh. A dancer and a dust master. This I have to see."

"I didn't say master! But I'm better than most." She turned her head up with emphasized pride.

"Well show me some tricks, I'm horrible at dust and aura control. My Semblance is about the only thing I can use efficiently."

"That's more than most can say. I bet some of the students don't even know their Semblance yet."

"Do you know yours?"

"Of course I do!" Zinnia almost sounded offended, "Just another thing to look forward to seeing in my bag of never ending tricks."

"Well, I may have a few more tricks of my own, don't think I've run out of ideas yet."

"How about…" Zinnia thought for a moment, tapping her chin with her finger. "We stop talking about fighting and we start looking at the sights, huh?"

"That sounds nice, actually." Azure steadied herself against a pole, feeling a smaller wave pass through her.

"Woah, you ok?"

"Yeah, they're getting better each time they pass. I think I'll be ready to go tomorrow at this rate."

"What about your wing?"

Azure moved it tenderly under the splint. "I don't need it to fight. It'll be good enough to fight on the ground by tomorrow." She shook her head, "Sorry, how about we go by the waterfalls?"

"Ooh, I was hoping you'd say that!"

The two walked along the scenic route, looking at the various sights of the city. Just as the sun set, they stood in front of Haven academy looking at it in awe.

"Wow, that's a pretty school." Azure looked around the courtyard, making sure to take in as much as possible.

"No kidding!" Zinnia was walking next to Azure with her arms up behind her head. "Well you better like it. We're going to be here for a while."

They walked into the main area where a large group of students were mingling together. There were already some groups that looked like they were past acquaintances or already friends that were packed together. There were others who were by themselves, either unable to find a group or preferred to be alone.

"You were right. There aren't a lot of Faunus here that I can see." Zinnia scanned the crowd, "Well… Should we mingle or should we wait for someone to come to us?"

There were some mumbles and glances towards them as they walked in, "We should wait for them, I think." She looked around acutely aware that they were attracting a lot of attention for some reason. "What are they looking at? Are Faunus that rare?"

"Well, amphibian tails and wings are kind of already rare traits to inherit, but I don't think that's what they're looking at. Miss Nevermore Slayer."

"Nevermore Slayer? Has that already gone through the rumor mill?" Azure shrunk, hiding behind Zinnia.

"Yep, everyone knows all about how you killed nine Nevermore defending an airship all by your lonesome." She slapped her on the back, being careful to miss the hurt wing. "They're probably _sizing_ you up to see if they want you on their team." She put extra emphasis on "sizing".

"Well, let's just try to avoid them for now." Pausing for a moment, she caught the smirk on Zinnia's face. "Was that a height joke?"

"Anyway," her smile only grew, "why not just enjoy the popularity for now? You aren't afraid of people are you?"

"Yes, I am!" she kept trying to avoid people's gazes by standing close to Zinnia, "I don't do well in crowds."

"I figured as much. But if I'm supposed to be teaching you how to be a team player…" She looked around and grabbed her hand. She put her face close to hers and kept on her smirk, "How's your stomach doing?"

She froze at the sudden proximity of their faces, "F-fine now, why do you ask?" Azure looked to her hand, and back to Zinnia. "Don't do it."

"Whatever do you mean?" she made a hard right turn and pulled her along, "Hi there friend!" they approached a girl who was standing by her lonesome looking through her scroll.

"Are you talking to me?" The girl was dressed in a white kimono with black birds printed up the side. Her red obi was a distracting flair of color that pulled your gaze away from her light blue eyes and long, silver hair. "Do I know you?"

"Not one bit!" Zinnia said holding out her hand, "I'm Zinnia Ashbell and this here is Azure Neomea. Nice to meet you!"

She looked back to her scroll for a moment and sighed, storing it in a pocket under the obi. "Eiralys Gwynfor." She held out her hand for Zinnia and flinched suddenly.

"Something wrong?" Zinnia waited for her hand.

"Sorry, your body is really warm… It's nothing." She shook her hand finally, but pulled away fast. "Sorry. It's nothing personal."

Zinnia looked at her hand, "None taken. And your hand is nice and cold." She pushed Azure forward. "Your turn."

"Hi." She said meekly, holding out her hand with an awkward smile.

"Hello." She shook Azure's hand properly, "Hey. Aren't you the one who everyone's been talking about?"

"I have no idea what-" Zinnia elbowed her, "I mean, yes. I am the infamous Nevermore Slayer, please don't make a big deal about it."

"You killed nine, by yourself?" She sounded suspicious. "I highly doubt you took out that many, even students couldn't do that and walk away, I bet Hunters and Huntresses would have had trouble with that many."

"Oh I had trouble all right." She pointed back to her wing, "Dislocated my wing about four times along with a fracture or two and I nearly bled out after one jumped me from below the forest."

"Then where are your injuries?" Eiralys looked her over, "You don't look injured."

"They're almost healed, the doctors didn't believe it either, but all that's left now is my wing and my dizziness that comes and goes."

"Honestly, I just can't bring myself to believe you, but I'll go along with it until you prove me wrong." She leaned against the wall, "Call me Eris, by the way. It's much easier to say than my full name."

"Okay, Eris." Zinnia chimed in, "So what brought you here, to Haven?"

Eris gave another sigh, "Same as everyone else, to become a Huntress. Why else would I be here?"

"Well, yeah. But are you from around here? I'm from Menagerie and she's from a small village south of here."

"Oh, I'm from Atlas…" She stopped short, "I mean… argh." She wrestled with something in her mind before continuing, "Yeah, I'm from Atlas. I practically ran away from that hellhole of a country to come here, if you must know."

"Hellhole? I knew Atlas was strict, but I wouldn't call it a hellhole." Zinnia said looking for Azure for support.

Azure shrugged, trying to stay out of the conversation as much as she could. "I don't know much about Atlas, sorry."

"Well, you wouldn't know unless been to one of their military camps."

"Military camps?" Azure finally tapped in. "I've only heard of primary schools over there."

Eris shook her head, "You all call them schools. We call them camps. Now, did you want something of me or are you going to make small talk until Lionheart decides to come out?"

"I just thought we'd make some friends, you know, to lighten the mood a bit." Zinnia dragged Azure in front of her, "This one's a bit shy, so I'm trying to break her out of her shell."

Eris looked down to Azure, "Is she always this excited?"

"Seems so." She looked up to Zinnia's face who was standing directly behind her. "We just met yesterday on the airship, so we're still learning about each other."

Eris rolled her eyes, "And you're just letting her drag you around like that?"

"I do kind of owe her a lot right now. Plus, I think it's kind of cute." She smiled for a second before becoming flustered, "I mean fun! Being dragged around is fun!"

"Oh-ho." Zinnia gave a smirk as she looked down, "You heard the lady. She thinks it's cute that I want to show her around." She enjoyed Azure's mumbles of embarrassment, "I got no issues dragging her either, so we're both enjoying it."

Eris pulled her scroll out to look at the time. "Right, just leave me out of it." She tapped her finger impatiently on the screen. "What's taking him so long, he was supposed to be out here ten minutes ago!"

"Looks like someone is still on Atlas's strict time schedules." Zinnia moved in between Azure and Eris. "I've heard the Professor Lionheart is kind of scatterbrained, so expect him to be late to a few assemblies." As she spoke, there was a loud clunk from the doors unlatching.

Eris put her scroll away and looked up towards the double doors that opened slowly. A man stepped out, carrying a few papers and was still hooking up a small microphone to his jacket.

"Ehem. Testing…" He spoke casually, but still managed to hold authority over the room. The room was silent as soon as the mic turned on.

"Thank you all for coming today, and congratulations on being recruited into Haven Academy." He cleared his throat again, "I only have a few things to talk about before I let you go back to your own thing, so please give me a moment of your time."

He pulled out his papers and looked them over, "My first announcement is to remind you that being accepted isn't enough to gain access to this school. You are almost there, but you will need to pass the entrance exam and form your teams in order to be fully integrated into the academy."

Azure watched him in awe, until she noticed his small lion tail poking out from under his jacket. She pointed it out to Zinnia who just chuckled slightly.

"Next, you'll be assigned teams based on the exam of which you will only know the details of before you are tested." He turned over the page and continued, "You will spend the night in this room until tomorrow morning's exam. So find your sleeping accommodations and sleep well. Finally, after you form teams you will be given your dorm rooms and class schedule at the acceptance ceremony."

He put down his papers and checked his pocket watch, "Sorry for being late to give you all such little information, however I would like to thank those who waited for me and again congratulate you all on being accepted into the Haven Academy family. Now I must leave to make preparations for the exam."

After he turned and left the room rumbled with voices, as it was before. Azure turned to Zinnia and noticed that Eris had already started walking away towards the door.

"Well, she's no fun." Zinnia pouted as she watched her go. "Anyway, let's go find a spot to sleep."

Azure stumbled for a moment before walking in a normal rhythm again. "Yeah. Believe it or not, I'm still tired."

"Are you sure, you want to go through with this?" Zinnia asked as they found their bags and started setting up their sleeping areas. She looked back and found Azure hugging her weapon.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'll be fine once I get some rest, I think." She pulled out her sleeping bag and rummaged around for her sleepwear. "If I'm not, then I'll ask for a retake when I am, if he offers one."

"If you say so…" Zinnia found her own pajamas and checked the time. "It's only ten at night, what about your 'night owl' tendencies?"

Azure laughed, "I can sleep when I need to, and believe me, I need to."

"Well, I was going to show you that dance I promised you, but I think I'm going to wait until after we're accepted for good."

"As much as I want to see that, I'm inclined to agree." She held out her fist to Zinnia, "Let's try our best to get together on the same team, yeah?"

She bumped her fist, "Absolutely. Now let's form a strategy in case it's one of those ones where we need to find each other, so we can team up immediately!"

"Oh, I have an idea for that." Azure looked back to her weapon. "I think you'll see the signal."

Zinnia looked at the large weapon, "Yes, I think everyone will see that one."

"You'd better run fast, then. I'll probably attract a lot of attention."

"I'm more than fast enough."

Azure yawned with a lazy smile. "I bet you are. I'm kind of hoping we'll be fighting each other, tournament style instead. I want to see what you can do."

Zinnia frowned, "I kind of don't, I can hold my own, but you're a different kind of beast."

"And if I lose, I can blame it on my medical condition." She joked.

"You'd better not, or I'll give you a medical condition!" Zinnia held up her fist at her.

"I'll be good, I swear!" They both laughed at each other and sat against the wall.

Azure started nodding off, still feeling the exhaustion from the morning. Zinnia caught on and waved a hand in front of her. "You should probably change before you fall asleep, you know."

"You're right. What about you? Staying up for a bit?" she grabbed her supplies and stood up.

"I should probably sleep too, early mornings are not my thing." Zinnia sighed when she thought about waking up early.

"I'm an early riser, so I'll help you get started if you need it."

Zinnia gathered her things and walked with Azure to change. "Thanks, I'd probably sleep through the exam if someone didn't drag me out of bed."

Azure yawned and stepped through the door, running into someone who was coming out. She caught azure before she fell back and pulled her up. "Sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" she noticed scales around her neck and arms when she looked back to her. Her hair was wet and looked black with some shading of purple.

"No worries! Being stressed and tired is not a good combination for anyone!" she gave a bright smile and slipped past her. "Good luck on the exam!" She said before walking over to a guy with cerulean hair wearing an outfit of grey. They walked away talking to each other happily.

"She seemed nice." Zinnia watched them leave, "Maybe we could look for them if we need to find someone else?"

"We're already pushing our luck with trying to get us together. We should probably just let the chips fall where they want after that."

"True. Now let's get going so we can be fully rested for tomorrow!"

"Ugh, I've never slept so much in my life." Azure thought of how much she hadn't moved since the fight. "I'm going to make up for some lost time during the exam."

"Just don't overdo it." They both changed in their respective stalls speaking to each other over the wall. "I don't want to carry you back to the hospital again."

"Believe me, that's the last thing I want right now." They stepped out a few seconds later dressed for sleep and returned to their beds.

"Oh, I believe you." Zinnia got under her blankets and turned to face Azure who mirrored her.

"Either way, Good luck on the exam. I'll be rooting for you!" Azure yawned again and turned on her back.

"Likewise." She paused for a moment before speaking a bit more silently, "Goodnight, Azure."

"Goodnight, "Smokin' Hot." Azure stifled her laugh as she felt a punch from her side. "Sorry, I had to." After a few moments of silence she looked back to Zinnia who was already sleeping. "Goodnight, Zinnia."

The rest of the students started to settle down as the night went on. Soon peaceful snores and restless movements were the only sounds that could be heard in the large room.


	4. Chapter 4: Partners

Chapter 4: Haven Academy, Part 2: Partners

A loud ring from the huge bell outside rumbled the ground of Haven Academy, causing a synchronized awakening of all of the sleeping students in the room.

Azure sprang up, grabbed her weapon and looked around in a moment of panic. She took a deep breath and relaxed her posture. "Woah, that's one way to get us up." She behind her and found Zinnia sleeping halfway out of her sleeping bag, spread out all over the floor.

She knelt down and poked her side a couple times. Zinnia grumbled a bit and turned over on her side, now completely out of the sleeping bag. Azure laughed at her and poked her a few more times, this time with a cold dust crystal from her bag.

"Gah!" Zinnia spun around on her back and looked at Azure with wide eyes. "What'd you do that for?" She looked around and found that half of the students were already geared and awake.

"You slept past the impossibly loud bell, that's why!" She grabbed her clothes and gear and gave Zinnia an expecting glare. "You're the one who told me to wake you up."

"Yeah, yeah…" She reached for her gear with a yawn and slumped over to the changing rooms with Azure.

"You weren't kidding about the morning thing. You look dead compared to how you usually are."

"I told you I'm not a morning person. I'm usually only awake after copious amounts of caffeine." She tugged on her flashy clothes and started walking for the room again. "I'll manage somehow."

Azure gave her a pity smile, "We can go out for coffee after the exam."

"Thank you!" She gave a smile that turned into yet another yawn. "I'll have to take you up on that offer." She paused and checked her weapons, making sure her dust was loaded. "You feeling up for this today?"

"I'm all better. Though I'm trying to come up with a landing strategy if we need one. She looked back to her wing, "I don't think I'll be flying for a few more days."

Zinnia attached her sword to her belt and stretched her arms out, "Aww, I thought you said you'd be my landing strategy? What am I supposed to do now?" She gave a more reasonable attempt at a smirk, although she seemed to still be practically sleepwalking. "How's your aura?"

Azure focused and brought up a visible aura field around her body. She felt it come in slower than she was used to, but she didn't feel sick anymore. "I feel fine. I think I'm all better now. I'll go talk with the school nurse after the exam to make sure."

"You'd better." They arrived outside where a mass of students waited for the announcement of their exam.

Several airships flew into view, each one able to carry at least ten students each in the open compartments. Over the megaphones attached to the ships voices rang out addressing them, "All students, these are your transports to your exams. You will board however you wish and we will drop you off at the exam site."

Waves of students piled onto the ships, each one taking off slowly after being filled and heading deep into the forests south of the city.

"Ugh, forest? Really?" Azure crossed her arms, "I was hoping for a more unique battlefield."

"Unique? Did you think we would fight on the mountains or something? It's the only place large enough for this many students to fight without it becoming an all-out war."

"I guess." They hopped on the ship, noting that only eight had boarded and they were the last in line because of how slow Zinnia had gotten ready. As the ship started to take off a girl could be seen sprinting towards the ship. "Who's that? A late addition?"

"Stop the ship for a second!" Zinnia called into the cockpit.

The girl jumped on, panting from her sprint. "Thank you…" She said through labored gasps. "I had business at the school before the call was made, I didn't think I'd make it in time."

She was wearing what was essentially a black biker jacket over a white t-shirt and black cargo pants with matching boots. Her hair was black but had silver streaks that only showed in the sunlight. On her back was a large war-scythe. The blade was black with gold decorations on the side.

"You were just in time!" Azure pat her on the back once. She tensed up and backed away from her. "You okay there?"

"Yeah, sorry." She stood to her full height, standing just over six feet, and looked down to Azure. "I get spooked easily."

Azure noticed that her right eye was covered by a large eyepatch that covered most of the right side of her face. She looked down and grabbed Zinnia's shoulder.

"Azure? You okay?" Zinnia felt concerned again.

"No! Why is everyone so much taller than me?!" She looked up to Zinnia, "You! That Eris girl! And now her!"

She gave a small sigh of relief, "You're just a little shorter than most, it's nothing to be sad about. I bet being smaller helps you a lot when you fly too, so think of it as a blessing."

"I guess you're right…" She turned back to the other girl, "What's your name?"

The girl shivered a little and turned towards them slowly. "I'm, uh…" She continued to avoid looking them in the face, "I'm Roxanne."

"Well, I'm Azure, nice to meet you." She held out her hand for them to shake.

Roxanne reached out and gave a slightly limp handshake compared to the strength of Azure's. Zinnia jumped on Azure's good side and laughed, feeling a little more awake. "Aw, she's learning!" She held out her own hand, "I'm Zinnia!"

"N-nice to meet you." She gave Zinnia the same awkward handshake, then went back to staring out the side of the airship.

"Okay…" Zinnia swung back to her place using the straps on the ceiling. "I think I spooked her." Zinnia whispered to Azure.

"It's fine, she's probably just shy." She turned away from the open air and looked towards the students inside with them. She spotted the girl with the scales talking to a guy in nearly full body armor. They met eyes for a second and she waved, motioning over to her at the guy.

Azure waved back and the duo approached her. The girl slightly stumbled as the airship made a slight adjustment, but the man in armor kept walking straight, even helping her balance without so much as a misstep.

"Hiya!" the girl finally grabbed onto a strap and waved to Zinnia as well. The man clicked the side of his full face helmet and it slid apart at the face and pulled behind his head. He nodded in their direction and crossed his arms, not bothering with the safety straps.

"Hey!" Zinnia gave a warm smile to both of them. "You're the one who we ran into before."

"I'm sorry about before!" Azure bowed her head slightly, "Like you said I was really tired." She took a moment to study both of their appearances.

"I'm Lilith, and this is Slate." She motioned back to the man who stood still and kept silent. The girl was wearing a bodysuit that opened around the sides of her stomach, and her outer thighs. The top ended near the upper portion of her chest. Each open area displayed spots of small black scales that had a brown pattern on them.

Her pink gloves made a gradient to black as they approached the also black suit, with a magenta-pink hooded cloak that matched her pulled back, magenta hair. She noticed that her eyes were an iridescent yellow-green. She also had scales around her wrists, neck and the tops of her ears. Azure could make out the hilt of a couple weapons under her cloak but decided not to prod.

The man next to her grunted, "Nice to meet you both." He spoke in a deep voice, mirroring his steady figure.

His body was covered by grey-blue scaled armor that was reminiscent of stone. Underneath the armor, you could make out a black under suit that covered any spots the armor missed. He had brown eyes with only a small portion of green and his hair was a muted cerulean color, short and spiked.

On his left arm was a gauntlet of similar properties but it seemed to have a focus in the center palm that probably released dust of some sort. On his back was a small mace-looking weapon just barely large enough for him to hold with one hand. She thought to herself that it probably unfolded into something much larger based on the hinge that was visible.

"You ready for this?" Lilith asked looking at both of them.

"Of course." Azure put her free hand on her hilt. "I'm excited to see what we're going to do for this thing. I hope we have to fight something big."

"She's a little battle fiend," She looked at Azure who spun around to glare at her, "I mean, she's just a normal battle fiend!" Azure frowned and turned back to the other two.

"So, you two know each other? You seem to be pretty close."

Lilith grinned, "Yep! We both went to Sanctum before we came here. We've known each other way before that, though."

"She's been with me for a long time." Slate confirmed, "I don't think I've gone more than a week without seeing her since we met."

"We're inseparable!" Lilith said with pride, "We're hoping to get on the same team together since we already know each other."

"Well, good luck with that." Azure said, pointing back to Zinnia, "We're trying to do the same thing."

"Oh? How long have you two known each other?" Lilith looked between the two, "You look like you trust each other a lot."

"Heh, well…" Zinnia rubbed the back of her head. "We've only known each other for about two days now?"

"Only two days?" Slate brought his hand up to his chin, "I thought you two were cousins with how close you look."

"We've been through a lot in the past two days, believe me. She's already saved my life, and she's been nothing but friendly ever since I started causing her trouble."

Zinnia elbowed her in the side, "You are not causing me trouble! I did what I did because I wanted, not through some obligation."

"I know…"

Slate suddenly raised his hand, slightly too high and dented the roof of the ship, "Ah! Now I remember who you are!"

"Oh, great." Azure face palmed. "Let me guess…"

"The Nevermore Slayer!" Slate laughed, "One of the most ridiculous stories I've heard, I'll say."

"But it's true!" Zinnia came to her side, "I watched it all happened and dragged her out of the forest when she was done rampaging!"

"I never said I didn't believe it, I just said it was ridiculous." He laughed, "I hope to test your strength on the battlefield!" He received a bump on the back of his head, "Uh, after I find you of course."

"You'd better!" Lilith put a hand on her hip, losing some of her intimidation when she stumbled again due to turbulence.

Azure looked down out the side and saw a podium with Lionheart standing behind it. "Looks like we're here."

The airship dipped in altitude and landed in a large clearing, where there were multiple platforms, most likely one for each student.

"Good luck you two!" Zinnia yelled over to them as they departed.

Professor Lionheart awaited the group as they landed and were told to stand on a platform each. After the students were standing still, the microphone Lionheart had clicked on, silencing the group.

"I'm glad you could all make it here, and I must congratulate you all on making it this far, but I'm sorry to say that there is one more step you must make before enrolling in this school." He pulled out a scroll and messed with it for a bit. "I will now give you all the instructions for this exam."

There were hushed murmurs in the crowd as he prepared, "You will all be sent into the arena where you must find your own landing strategy to begin the exam. You are to run around the arena until you lock eyes with another student. Once you have locked eyes, you must fight. Whoever is the winner is the temporary leader of the pair. This means that the two fighting will be locked as partners for their stay here at Haven."

There was another rush of comments and whispers in the crowd as this was revealed. Lionheart continued. "A few of the professors and I will be monitoring the fights but will not intervene. Your task, once you've joined with another, is to find the shrine we have assembled and choose an artifact from the pedestal, one per team of two."

He paused for a moment to check for questions and continued. "After you and your partner find your artifact, you will be tasked to find another team of two and attempt to take their artifact from them. You may do so by any means and the teams that lose their artifact will be brought to me as their prisoners. Those groups who lose their artifacts will not continue to become a student."

There was a moment of absolute silence as the words sank in. The crowd became rowdy and started talking loudly over the Professor. Azure looked at Zinnia, worried about their chances.

"Calm down!" He stomped a foot and the students became quiet again. "This is a test to simulate real world situations, if you do not like the conditions you can leave." After none of the students moved from their platforms he continued. "Now, any questions?" He paused for a moment before someone raised his hand. "Yes?"

"What if a pair comes across a solo student?" He was fully cloaked in a green robe, hood over his face.

"That is up to you. You can spare the lone student, fight them, or partner up until you find someone to group with. If the lone student manages to take an artifact from a pair, that student takes those two as prisoners for the rest of the exam." He thought for a moment before speaking again, "I'll restate the rules of this exam. You must fight the first person who makes eye contact with you. You must pair with the first person you fight and whoever wins becomes the temporary leader. You must fight or flee when two pairs make contact, which means no teaming of two pairs. Also, you can fight those without an artifact, but they will not become "prisoners" until they find an artifact, so consider your fights carefully. And lastly, you must stay passive while being a "prisoner", unless defending from a Grimm. And no, a single team cannot take more than one other team prisoner."

"Now that I've explained things more thoroughly, I will begin spreading you out, if you don't mind. Please stand on your platform securely." There was a sound of gears moving beneath the platforms, "If you have any questions we will message you on your scrolls if we believe the answer should have been provided. Good Luck!"

He pressed a couple buttons and students were flung off one by one at random into the distance. Several screams could be heard from the less experienced students, but most flew in a confident manner.

"Remember our plan!" Azure said holding up her sword.

"I won't miss it." She winked and was flung off into the distance.

A few other students were launched in random order until finally Azure launched over the trees.

Her first instinct was to spread her wings, but winced as her wing throbbed at the attempted use. "Right, landing strategy…" She was too busy charging her railgun that she didn't notice the gigantic cavern that crossed into view below her. The opening of the chasm spread for miles, exposing a ruined underground city. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

She fell most of the way, using her good wing to slow her descent in conjunction with her semblance. She clipped the side of a building with her sword and increased the gravity of her body, causing her to slow dramatically as she tore through the building. After she had all but stopped, she lightened her body again and landed gracefully on the rubble below.

"Now for the signal." She pointed her railgun directly into the air and fired a large streak of lightning into the air. "Hopefully she saw that." She dashed into a nearby building and hid from anyone else who happened to see the blast. The vents on the sword hissed and closed while she loaded another round.

She crouched inside the second floor window of a large, mostly broken building. She watched three random students run past, none of which she recognized or thought much of. After a few more minutes of waiting, Azure thought about firing another round in case she needed another bearing. She walked out of hiding, listening carefully for other students. As she charged a round she was interrupted by a small green fire floating through the air.

"That's a little strange." She stepped back, assuming a trap, and watched it float away around a corner. "Ooookay, then." She shrugged and recharged her shot. A couple rocks shifted behind her, causing her to pause yet again. Spinning around to face the sound, she found a Creep Grimm staring at her from afar. "What now!? I'm trying to find someone!"

Azure took a step forward before she felt her heart clench. As it approached, she felt a spasm of pain as if her body was being stabbed repeatedly. "What…?" She steadied herself and fired a round through its body trying to ignore the pain. It dissipated into mist but her body didn't relax. She felt sweat drip off her nose as she stood frozen by the experience. "Not now…"

She heard another crunch of broken cement as something large landed behind her. She turned and faced the Ursa that had taken the opportunity to get close. It swung a large paw at her, which she dodged easily, and fell to four legs.

She felt a similar pain in her chest as she readied her weapon. She stepped backwards and attempted to charge her weapon, only to realize she hadn't reloaded or vented it yet. Cursing herself inwardly, she replaced her short sword into the claymore and reformed her large weapon, placing a gravity circle around it, making it heavier.

The Ursa shifted its movements and charged, Azure felt each stomp crush her body as it approached. She took another step back and tripped over a large piece of rubble. She fell backwards out of the claws of the Grimm and rolled under its legs.

"Come on… Pull yourself together." She lifted her sword again, this time standing firm, and waited for the Ursa to charge again. As it raked the ground with its paw, a blade wrapped around its head and decapitated it. Behind the dissipating mist was Zinnia posing dramatically with her sword retracting into her normal blade.

"What's wrong, can't fight well on the ground?" She walked up to her and noticed the sweat and uncertainty in her face. "Hey, seriously, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing much, I think my body still thinks it's injured." She wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. "Mind if I take a breather before we do this, partner?"

"If you're feeling up to it. I won't go easy on you, even if you're not at your peak!" Zinnia loosened her blade and it fell around her body, curving around her legs.

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Azure lifter her sword and made a few test swings to see how she felt. "Hmm, I feel fine now…" She took another swing and pulled the short sword out again. "Wanna give it a shot?" she rose her swords, her claymore pointing straight with her short sword crossed her chest in a guard. Blue circles flickered around both swords and she let the railgun vent finally.

"Let's do this then!" Zinnia pressed a button on the bottom of the hilt and her sword ignited. Each segment individually lit in a dramatic timing from the hilt down to the tip. She gave a twirl and sprayed some sparks over Azure. She began swinging the sword around her as she took steps toward Azure in a never-ending wave of whip slashes.

Azure looked over the weapon and smiled, "Ah, so that's what the multiple triggers are for." She crouched low and leapt fast into the range of the moving sword. She parried the first few blows and got in close. Thrusting hard, Azure felt nothing connect as Zinnia dodged the stab and gave her a slash across the face before she backed off. "Good reflexes…" Azure took another stance, and made another lunge.

Zinnia wrapped her sword around Azure's claymore and jumped over her next strike, "You won't make any progress using slow attacks like those." She looked at Azure's smirk and frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." She clicked a button and the railgun burst into electricity. The shock forced Zinnia to drop her sword and back away from the short sword that swiped multiple times at her stomach.

Zinnia clapped, "Okay, ready for my next performance?" She grabbed a vial out of her bag and dashed at Azure, stopping just short of her sword's swing and made some feats of flexibility as she dodged both swords multiple times and got in close enough to force her off her sword.

"Wow! How are you moving like that?" Azure took off the blue circle around the short sword and put one on herself.

"Mmmphf hmph!" Zinnia had something in her mouth as she mumbled through gull cheeks.

"I'm sorry what?" Azure lowered her swords slightly, confused by her new strategy.

Just as the swords lowered, Zinnia shot out bolts of fire from her mouth, some smaller than others, as she ran towards her sword. As she approached her weapon she let out a spray of fire breath that covered a large cone in front of her.

"Whew! Haven't done that in a while." She wiped her mouth of some red dust that still lingered. The sword whipped the ground and ignited a second time. "You won't get me twice with that trick." Her sword made a loud cracking sound as she sent sparks from the ground.

"I don't need to use it again, I think I almost have you figure out." Azure grinned, "How about you approach me this time?"

"Trying to bait me into an attack? Sure I'll bite." She spun the sword into a circle and attached it into a flaming hoop that surrounded her body. Azure took yet another stance and waited for the strike.

Zinnia launched herself with the hoop spinning in her grasp, she moved it around in confusing patterns and eventually landed several hit against Azure's guard.

After a few successful hits, the circles around Azure and her sword flickered and she made a counter attack much quicker than her other ones. She caught Zinnia a few times during the exchange, matching the speed of the hoop with her claymore and sword.

Zinnia countered in a similar fashion, switching her sword from hoop to whip to longsword, varying her strikes and configuration based on the attacks Azure landed.

Azure finally backed off the exchange, feeling that the exchange was not in her favor. Azure gave a hearty laugh, "Your fighting style is incredible! I can feel your passion for your dancing directly through your strikes!" She cracked her neck and took another stance, different still from the other three she made. "But I have you figured out now, sorry about this."

"Ha! You think you have me figured out do ya?" She took a defensive stance and felt her sweat run down her forehead, "Let's see you break through my defense then!"

Azure's stance took a different form, abandoning her initial plan for another. She replaced the third circle around her short sword and gave a battle shout just before flying into a frenzy of attacks towards Zinnia's range.

Zinnia blocked attack after attack, seemingly with ease, until a few hits got through her defense, sparks of orange Aura flew off her body as the attacks glanced off of spots of concentrated aura. There was a flash of panic in Zinnia's eyes as she adjusted her parries to consist of mostly longsword blocks. Suddenly, there was a flurry of strikes from the short sword leaving out her Claymore's strikes almost entirely.

Attempting to gain distance between them, she changed to the whip and tried to out space her moves. Azure stepped through a few hits and slammed her hilt into her gut knocking her onto her knees. "How did you do that?" Zinnia was dazed from the hit, but she wasn't done yet.

"Like I said, I figured you out." She gave a small slash through the air with her short sword as she walked towards her, "You rely on your semblance too much."

A dumbfounded look came over Zinnia's face, "You couldn't have figured out my Semblance that easily."

Giving a cocky smirk to Zinnia, Azure pointed her sword at her head, "I might not know the specifics, but you have a prediction type Semblance right?"

"Something like that, yeah…" She stood back up and readied her weapon. "But just because you know it doesn't mean you'll win."

"True, but I feel a bit more confident now." A whirring charge of electricity flowed through her claymore.

"I'm not done yet!" Zinnia made a rush this time, bringing her longsword into an overhead slash which Azure blocked with both swords, "Gotcha!"

Azure looked down to find her palm over her stomach. A pulse of Aura surged through her body knocking her back a few feet. The circles around her and her weapons flickered out of existence and she leapt backwards a few more to gain some distance. "My Semblance?"

"Remember when I said I'm good with dust? I'm better with Aura." She flicked her sword around her body, each time the whip collided against her, a shower of orange sparks floated off her Aura. "Ready for round two?"

Azure finally got a single circle around her body, which flickered on and off irregularly. Without responding, she charged her Railgun. After a deep breath, she braced herself and fired a bolt into the ground between them. The dust and debris from the explosion spread across the open area, cutting off both of their lines of sight.

Zinnia slapped some shrapnel away before barely blocking the end of the claymore that pierced the smoke. Azure retreated into the cover of the smoke and struck again from behind her. She repeated this process multiple times, scoring some hits against her which exploded in sparks of orange.

After a few more glancing blows, Zinnia made a circular swing with her whip and cleared most of the smoke around her, exposing Azure's next lunge. She found her footing again and clashed with the sword, locking blades together.

"Nice trick, but what can you do now?" Zinnia was struggling against the strength of Azure's blade, even more now that her Semblance returned.

Azure smirked, "I should be asking you that. As long as it's a battle of strength, I won't lose."

After a few more seconds of struggling with each other's blades, Zinnia ducked under her strike and wrapped her whip around her blade. The blade hummed with electricity, but Zinnia didn't react to the shock. She grabbed Azure's hand holding the short sword and pulsed another Aura blast into her arm. "Not happening this time!"

Azure looked down to see her hand wrapped in cloth, "You think I'd rely on the same trick twice?" She grunted as she had to release her short sword from the force of the blast. Her Semblance deactivated again and she staggered. She managed to hold onto the sword lock, despite the damage.

Ignoring the taunt as a bluff, Zinnia got in close and placed her hand back on her stomach, poised for another pulse. Azure took the opportunity and vented her Railgun directly next to her face when she leaned in. The steam blinded her and pushed her back, allowing for Azure to make a two-handed side slash.

Zinnia reacted too late to block, but instead made a stab using her longsword catching her in the chest as the claymore sent her flying. Both fighters landed on the ground, Auras shattering in unison.

Azure started laughing hysterically on the ground, "Ow, ow…" She sat up, still chuckling under her breath. "That was amazing!"

"How can you still have so much energy?" Zinnia huffed, still laying face up on the ground several feet away.

"Adrenaline mostly." She attempted to stand but fell backwards, "That was the most fun I've had fighting another person, period!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised by your ability to read the battle so well. You really put me in a corner there." Zinnia finally sat up grinning at Azure's excited expression. "Talk about a work out!"

"I've never seen Aura pulses like those, what'd you do to me?" Azure stood up using her sword as a support.

Zinnia struggled to get up, but managed to stand after finding a broken post to lean against. "It's the same concept as those Aura blasts used on Grimm to make them explode. I practically inject my target with Aura to disrupt their own, it works wonders on people who have Semblances that stay active."

Rubbing her stomach in pain Azure started hobbling over to her, "Yeah, I noticed that." She looked around and motioned to a building nearby, "We should rest in cover."

They supported each other as they walked. After sitting down in the rubble of the house Zinnia jerked up, "Wait! Who won?"

"Ah!" Azure and Zinnia looked at each other in realization. "That was supposed to pick our leader…" She thought hard for a moment. "You should be leader. I'll be your bodyguard!"

Zinnia shook her head, "Actually, I think you're better suited for being leader."

"R-Really?" She waved her hands dismissively, "No, no, no. I'm not good at all the team stuff, remember? I think the leading should go to the one who can keep a team together, not just a fighting maniac."

"Hey!" Zinnia punched her arm lightly, "Your ability to gather information and create a strategy to counter it is invaluable to the team, and usually the strategists make the best leaders. Plus you are ready to put your life on the line for others. It's something I really admire about you, ya know…"

Azure gave the idea some thought and nodded, "I will do it on one condition then. You will be my advisor."

"Really? I'm already your advisor, so it's a done deal!"

They bumped fists and laughed together, "Then it's settled. Then as my first order, I say we rest until our Aura is back and we go search for that shrine!"

"Whatever you say, leader!" Zinnia gave a mock salute.

"Oh please! Don't salute me like that. It makes me uncomfortable."

Before they could rest for long, there was a tremor of a falling building nearby and sounds of gunfire. "Man they're really going at it huh? I wonder who's fighting." Azure squinted towards the dust, "They must be strong to level a building like that."

"You should talk! That gun of yours could blow any of these buildings away in a single shot!" She looked at the sword, "I'm glad you didn't shoot me with that thing!"

"I tone down the power a bit when I'm fighting people, don't worry about that."

The sounds came closer and the building across the ruined street crumbled in a heap as well. Two fighters clashed several times at blinding speeds. Even at a closer distance, the dust from the collapsed building made it hard to see the fighters.

"Is that, Lilith and Slate?" Zinnia narrowed her eyes to try and see if she was right.

"Wow, they are fast!" Azure watched the fight with an excited face, "I can't wait to see what they can do!"

Just as she said that, Slate caught Lilith by the neck with his gauntlet hand and threw her around like a ragdoll, slamming her into the walls and ground before throwing her into the wall next to Azure and Zinnia. Her Uzi-sword and Shotel fell to her sides as she slumped against the wall. Her pink Aura shattered around her while she looked at the sky in a daze.

A lance landed near her head and Slate jumped next to her, "You done?" He asked in a threatening voice.

"Yeah, I think I'm still seeing stars from that last one." She shook her head and stumbled a bit before getting up. "Good fight Slate!" She smacked him on the back and he instantly relaxed his posture.

"You didn't go easy on me did you?" He glanced over to his audience and grabbed his spear, pushing Lilith behind him, "Who's there?" His friendly voice was replaced by the deep, threatening voice as he pointed his lance towards the two watchers.

"Whoa there buddy!" Zinnia laughed, "We just finished our fight too. We're not any threat to you two!"

"Hey, you two!" Lilith moved to Slate's front pushing his lance down, "Glad to see you made it to each other!"

"Same to you two!" Azure sat back, lowering her weapon now that the fight was averted.

"Who won?" Slate asked first, surprising all three of them. His helmet slid back around his face and folded back behind his head.

"Uh, we kinda ended the battle in a draw." Zinnia looked over to Azure who smiled at her.

"A draw?" Lilith sat next to them. "That's crazy! How'd you manage that?"

"We just kept exchanging blows with each other until we broke." Azure shrugged, "It was the only way I could make any headway on her."

Zinnia grabbed Azure's arm and raised it high. "We decided to let Azure take the official victory though."

Lilith nodded, "You guys have any idea where the shrine is?"

"Nope. We're recovering first before we head out." Azure looked over both of them, "I'd love to fight, but I think we'll have to reschedule."

Slate nodded, "Agreed. We shouldn't stay together for too long, in case the proctors think we're teaming." He motioned to Lilith who jumped up, "I'm sure we'll see each other again."

Azure and Zinnia waved them off and continued resting. A few other students passed, this time in teams of two, but none found them in their hiding spot. After they regained enough Aura to move on, they carefully searched the area for their prize.


	5. Chapter 5: Team Building

Chapter 5: Haven Academy Part 3: Team Building

The city was quiet. There were no signs of students or Grimm were heard for almost a mile of walking. They were still making sure they were keeping clear of potential ambush points and took their time during their search.

Azure stretched her wing and arms with a loud yawn, "I thought we'd be attacked before now. I'm kind of itching for a fight again."

"We haven't found the shrine yet, most people don't want to attack us when they know we don't have one." Zinnia was cleaning her sword, polishing it with a rag from her pouch. "And don't jinx us!"

They rounded the corner and saw a long wooden table with several flags pushed through the middle. Each one was white and stood only two feet tall on their poles.

Unimpressed, Azure pointed towards the table. "These are the artifacts?"

"It looks like they are…" She looked over the table, "Wow, we are in the middle of the pack! Half of the flags are already gone." She picked one up and handed it to Azure.

After Azure grabbed it, she put in under her belt, tying some string around it to keep it held on. "This is a bit cumbersome, but that's probably the point."

"Now, how do you want to go about taking out another team?" Zinnia and Azure simply walked away from the table, "Stealth or all-out assault?"

Azure shook her head, "I feel bad taking away someone else's chance at entering the school. If we're going to strike first, I'd like to fight them head on. Instead of taking them out from behind."

Zinnia nodded, "Yep, I thought you'd say that." She finished cleaning her sword and sheathed it, "Hopefully the others feel the same way."

"I know." Azure sighed, "I don't want to jeopardize your chances over my morals. Please tell me you won't regret it if we lose on a one on one fight. If you would rather, we can try to ambush someone."

"No. You're right. We should fight them without hiding. Besides," she elbowed Azure, "Who could beat us?"

Azure laughed, "I know we think we're strong, but getting cocky is no way to go into a fight." She pointed to her wing, "I'm proof of what happens when you do."

A clatter of stone fell behind them. Both of them spun with weapons drawn. "Who's there?"

Zinnia focused, her aura shimmering around her body, "There's something moving." She scanned in a circle, keeping Azure's back to her own. "I can't find it." Zinnia popped a vial of red dust open and poured some into her mouth.

They heard a noise approach them from behind and reacted too late. Azure was being held with a knife to her throat. Zinnia stepped back to find that the person holding her hostage was invisible. There was a slight shimmer that she could make out once she saw it holding still, but she couldn't make out any features.

Azure's weapon was slapped out of her hand, "Fighting us alone? Where's your buddy?"

The invisible assailant was silent, instead bringing the knife close enough to touch her skin.

Zinnia raised her hands, unable to speak, so Azure spoke for her. "Nice invisibility. I'm assuming it's your Semblance." The knife loosened slightly as she spoke, "I feel like we got off to a wrong start. How about we start over?" She winked at Zinnia.

A wing extended to the side of the arm holding her pushing the knife out of the way. Just as the attack knocked the assailant off balance, Zinnia launched a bolt of fire directly into them.

The person became uncloaked, standing next to a small fire left from the blast. Eris stood holding a bladed fan in one hand, and a compact assault rifle in the other. Her robe was gone. She instead wore a pair of white shorts with a blue, short sleeved shirt that came to a corner at the bottom. She still wore her white scarf despite the wardrobe change.

Azure cocked her head sideways in recognition, "Eris? Wow, you nearly got me there." She picked up her weapon and backed closer to Zinnia, "But now that you're alone and visible how about you run? I don't think you want to fight us."

"Not happening. And by the way…" The building behind them exploded with a destructive force. Something flung itself out of the smoke and Azure spun around to face it while Zinnia watched Eris.

The figure pounced on Azure before she could find them and flung her across the road. She made a low sweep with a large blade to get Zinnia to jump towards Eris. Azure skidded across the pavement but recovered fast and steadied her ground. In between her and Zinnia was Roxanne, crouching low to the ground with a strange dagger and a large curved blade.

Azure felt a small tinge of pain run through her body but she ignored it as best she could and split her weapon into two. "Well, I see you two are having fun." She checked her weapon and charged the blade. "What do you got for me?"

The smirk on Azure's face fell as Roxanne instead turned on Zinnia from behind, making a wide slash towards her legs as Eris started laying down machine-gun fire.

"Zinnia!" She rushed in to try and save Zinnia but Roxanne stopped the slash midway and rotated into Azure's sword, completely reversing direction on the fly. The clash pushed Azure back into a second slash that she didn't see coming, sending her even farther back.

Roxanne stabbed the ground with her dagger and pivoted around it making consecutive horizontal slashes, pushing Azure back with each one. She used the momentum of each slash to push forward, releasing the dagger and replacing it before each swing. The dagger hummed and spun like a drill each time it came out of the ground.

The weight of the slashes were too much to block, so she instead attempted to bring her away from Zinnia. She didn't have time to talk with the consecutive blows inching closer with each slice. Suddenly, Roxanne pushed off her last slash and attached the dagger in a slot in the center of the blade, creating a handle for her other hand. She ran at her on all fours, using the blade as her front legs, and bounded closer with an impressive speed.

Zinnia dodged most of the bullets with ease, gaining ground on Eris with her whip strikes. She heard Azure and Roxanne fighting in the background but focused on Eris, figuring Azure could handle her until one of them won their own battle.

Eris continued firing until Zinnia got within range. She folded her fan into a knife and jumped into the whip storm, wrapped the whip around her rifle, and made multiple slashes with her knife. Zinnia dodged the first few attacks and punched her in the gut with an Aura pulse.

She flew back, losing her grip on both her knife and her gun and hit the wall hard. Zinnia capitalized on the moment and grabbed her weapons, unloaded the rifle, and tossed them away. "Out of moves, Eris." She closed the gap and gave her a quick scan, looking for her artifact. "Roxy has it huh?" Stepping away, while keeping close to Eris, she checked Roxanne over while she fought Azure. Attached to the back of her belt was the flag.

Seeing that Zinnia was distracted, Eris dashed behind some rubble. "Damn it!" She walked back over to Eris's weapons, keeping a tight watch over them. "Azure! Eris is hiding again, be careful!"

Azure barely had enough time to grunt in acknowledgement before she deflected another heavy slam from Roxanne's blade. She felt her legs giving out and the strain, which only increased her frustration. "How are you not tired yet?!" She managed to yell out under constant attacks from Roxanne.

Roxanne stayed eerily quiet. Her single eye was laser focused on Azure's movements. She didn't even look phased by the relentless attacks she was making. Finally, Azure made a parry that broke her guard and spun around to her back, slamming the flat of the blade across her back, sending electric current through her body. Roxanne gasped and fell to the ground.

Azure didn't feel the sword hit Aura when she landed the blow and pulled her sword back quickly. "You… Why isn't your aura engaged?!" Azure stepped back, "You shouldn't be fighting without your Aura. I could have cut you in half!"

Roxanne shook her head, "It is engaged…" She sounded winded but almost immediately resumed her quiet rampage, masking any signs of exhaustion. She knocked the short sword out of Azure's hand and grabbed her wrist, picking her up and slamming her into the ground with a heavy impact.

Azure countered with a slash while being flung around, catching her in the arm. She felt it hit aura this time and followed up with an uppercut from her now free hand. Roxanne was flung backwards from the punch but hit Azure with a bicycle kick using the momentum.

The two separated and panted harshly. A bolt of fire slammed into Roxanne's back and she fell to her knee. Zinnia was prepping another shot, when an invisible fist shattered the vial that she was holding, causing the dust to explode in her face.

Eris flew backwards, only able to retrieve her knife after the blast. Zinnia shook off her daze while Eris opened her fan. "Not on my watch!" The fan sprinkled some ice dust over her, falling out of small tubes on the folds. She cloaked again with improved invisibility. The shimmer was almost undetectable now, especially with the cloud cover that recently moved over the sun.

Zinnia could barely track her movements, and her Semblance wouldn't activate on an invisible opponent. She recalled Azure's advice during their fight and stopped focusing on her Semblance.

Eris approached fast and strong, making multiple stabs and slashes at Zinnia's arms and stomach. Zinnia, however, managed to dodge each slash and transformed her whip into the hoop form. In an extremely extravagant maneuver, Zinnia danced with the hoop. Tracking the body when it was close wasn't hard and with the hoop's close range and wide sweeps the knife couldn't get close enough to her to hit.

With a flourish of the fan, Eris revealed herself and sprayed ice dust over Zinnia's face, blinding her for a few seconds. Zinnia felt the cold steel of the knife press against her neck as she had done to Azure before. Her labored breathing from behind gave away her fatigue but she held a firm hold.

"You are one tricky girl you know that?" Zinnia said trying not to move. "But you don't seem to remember who you're fighting!" Her tail swept Eris off her feet and was followed up by an aura pulse into her chest directly against the ground.

Eris had the wind knocked out of her and her head fell to the side, body limp. "Humans don't fight Faunus too often, so I bet you're not used to fighting tails or wings." She turned towards the other fight to check on Azure and was met with a large owl wing blocking her vision.

Azure crashed into Zinnia after being thrown by another grapple from Roxanne. They stood up together and watched as Roxanne walked up slowly.

"I might need some help with this one." Azure grabbed her wrist in pain, "She's got some mean strength behind her punches."

Roxanne stopped a few feet away from the duo and took in a deep breath. She let out a roar that sent shivers down all three of the people in front of her. She lowered herself, crouching forward with her curved blade being held in both hands. The blade crushed the ground below her as she prepared to make a dash.

Both Azure and Zinnia attempted to spread out, only for Roxanne to catch Zinnia by the tail after making a speedy dash and swing her into Azure. The throw was followed up with a large slam with the back end of the blade. The ground cracked and caved into a large crater.

As the dust settled, Roxanne stumbled backwards and fell to a knee and took in several rapid breaths. She looked into the crater and saw a flash of blue Aura crack and shatter. Azure was lying unconscious, covering Zinnia with her body.

"Azure?" Zinnia called out, sliding her body into a more comfortable position. "There you go again, playing the hero." She pat her on the head before standing, enraged at her new opponent. "Now you've done it."

A blur of motion was all Roxanne could see as Zinnia rushed forward, making precise strikes while simultaneously dodging all of Roxanne's attacks. The elegant movements and flourishes were all gone and her attacks lost all of their elaborate movements.

Roxanne struggled against the blows, still catching her breath from before. The battle was over in a matter of moments as Roxanne fell to the ground, losing her weapon in the process. Zinnia took a shaky breath, and rose her sword to finish her off.

"Hold it!"

Zinnia froze, recognizing the voice.

"You've lost." Eris stood behind her holding the white flag from Azure's belt. She was still winded and was shaking just from standing, "Stand down."

Zinnia stood wide eyed at Eris and fell to the ground, defeated. "We lost?" She looked over to Azure's body and hung her head. "I should have stayed with her." She let the realization sink in as Roxanne fell onto her back, panting.

"Thank you, Eris. I ran out of steam at the end there." Roxanne lifted her head to look at Zinnia. "Sorry. I don't like this either, but it's how the exam was made."

"I know." Zinnia limped back to Azure and sat next to her. "I'm fine with it. I was doing this more for the thrill anyway." She propped Azure onto her lap, "I just don't know how she's going to take this."

Eris stood with her arms crossed, but with a gloomy expression. Roxanne stood finally, "I'll carry her while we make our way back. It's the least I can do for her."

"Thank you." Zinnia gathered herself together, trying to bring some positivity back. She remained silent, however, as they started their walk back to the launch site.

Nearly half way back, Azure stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Roxanne noticed and set her down, propped up against a wall.

She looked around and sighed. "We lost didn't we?" She asked to no one in particular.

"Yep." Zinnia tried to keep her voice in high spirits. "But we put up a good fight, eh partner?"

"That we did…" Azure pulled herself up and walked over to Zinnia. She embraced her silently, a tear rolled down her cheek before she pulled away. "Sorry we couldn't go farther than this."

"Not at all! You even took the full brunt of that last attack in your condition, I think you're better at this team thing than you think."

Looking over at Eris and Roxanne, Azure bowed slightly, "Good fight. Normally I'd be a bit more excited, but, you know."

Roxanne placed a hand on Azure's shoulder, "What do you mean, your condition?"

Zinnia cringed at the slip of the tongue. "Uh, Azure just got out of the hospital. She was injured after fighting a flock of Nevermore and had some aura problems after being released."

Roxanne immediately became horrified. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" She looked more troubled by her condition than Azure did when she was released.

"Oh, no. I'm feeling much better. Save for my wing. It was my decision to attempt this exam while not at my best." She grabbed Roxanne's hand and looked at it, "You handshake was so weak, I wasn't expecting such monstrous strength from you!"

Her hand retracted immediately, and Roxanne went back to avoiding eye contact. "I have a problem holding back in battle." She turned away and started walking away hurriedly.

Zinnia and Azure looked at Eris, who shrugged. "She was like that when we fought too. I didn't stand a chance." They looked after Roxanne who was walking further away while rubbing her arm.

"We should get going." Eris motioned with her head, "I don't like lingering in places like these."

They walked down multiple streets, using the maps on their scrolls for guidance to find the starting platform.

"So, care to give us a little more info about your story, Miss Atlas runaway?" Zinnia asked, "We aren't exactly in a hurry and we could use the distraction."

"Not much to say." She said quickly, "I didn't like it there, so I left. End of story."

"Oh come on!" Zinnia pursued the topic further, "There's got to be more than that. You didn't want to talk about it earlier, obviously, so there's got to be more than 'didn't like it'."

Eris shook her head, "Look, I know you're just trying to be friendly, but I'd rather not get into this. I left that all behind so I could forget about it. So I'd appreciate if you'd stop butting into my personal life just to pass the time!" She came off a bit bitter at the end and turned away from the group, walking past Roxanne in a huff.

"Still has that Atlas cold shoulder I see." Zinnia said under her breath.

Azure tapped Roxanne's shoulder, causing her to jump. "Sorry." Roxanne spun her head around to face them. "I was curious about you, what was that thing about your Aura? It felt like I hit your back!" She looked at Roxanne's back more carefully and noticed shredded cloth on the backside of her jacket. "I did!" She yelled, "Are you okay?"

She hesitated to answer until she saw the concerned look in Azure's eyes. "I have less Aura than the average person, some kind of Aura deficiency." Looking away from the two, Roxanne stared at the ground. "That's why I was late, I was at the infirmary getting cleared to participate."

"I noticed your Aura has a really weird flow to it…" Zinnia said narrowing her eyes in suspicion, "My Semblance can see the Aura flow of a person, among other things," she explained, "Your back, legs and…" She paused when she looked at her face, "Your bad eye all have really weak, or even nonexistent Aura flowing through them…"

"Like I said. It's a deficiency. Doctors can't explain it, and I was told that I shouldn't become a Huntress because of it." She clenched her fist, "But this is what I wanted to do. Ever since I left… uh, home… I wanted to fight evil and slay Grimm. I want to help others who are troubled, and I feel like I can do that if I become a Huntress!"

"You're very noble." Azure said gently, "I know the feeling of wanting to help others. Even when they don't want you there." She recalled some nasty memories from her village but shook them away.

Roxanne's eyes watered and she grasped Azure's hands, "I feel so bad, taking another promising Huntress away from her dream! If it's at all possible, can I have your contact information?" She looked to Zinnia as well, "Both of you!"

Azure nodded, "Of course. We wouldn't hold this against either of you! Let's all meet up together for some fun some night. I'm sure Zinnia and I will be here for a bit after this, right?"

"Yeah! I didn't come all the way from Menagerie just to leave the next day! I'm staying here for a bit until I'm satisfied with my visit!"

"Perfect!" She became aware of her hands again and pulled them behind her back.

Eris turned around, oblivious of anything that happened behind her, "We're here."

Her announcement instantly dampened the mood. The impending doom looming ahead caused the all of them to quiet down, feeling the weight of the stairs leading out into expulsion.

They climbed the stairs in silence and opened the trap door at the top. They surfaced nearly thirty feet away from the launching pads, and saw a small group of students had already arrived. The losers were sat down behind the victors, everyone seemed hollow from their victories and defeats.

They approached Lionheart who nodded in their direction. "You four gave us quite the spectacle to watch." He gestured to a spot in front of him. "The prisoners will sit here, the victorious will hold onto their flags until the end."

Azure inspected the students around her, and found Slate and Lilith standing over a couple of students they beat. The man in the green cloak she recognized from the start of the exam. He looked particularly crushed by his defeat and was sulking by himself. He was hugging a staff with a large, clear orb at the top, presumably his weapon.

The girl was a strange one. She was wearing what appeared to be a black dress with bones attached in several places. Down the pleats of the bottom were long, finger like bones and around half of her chest were rib bones that wrapped around her body from behind. Her weapon was some sick contraption of large bones and strings, leading to a bladed ax at the top. The weapon looked condensed and she could make out several pivot areas that could unfold to something even more disturbing.

Lilith caught her eye and gasped, tapping on Slate's shoulder and giving an unhappy smile towards them. Slate turned and frowned, bowing his head in condolences from afar. They were pulled back in by the bone lady before they could interact any further.

Several minutes passed in silence. Lionheart checked his pocket watch and made a stressed grunt. He stepped away and made a call on his scroll. Azure and Zinnia could make out what he was saying, due to being placed near the front of the podium.

"Where's Professor Irving?" he sounded worried while he waited for the response. "Grimm Ambush? What about the students, who's watching them?" Another pause. Lionheart's tail was twitching with impatience. "You sent a replacement? Why don't we have a visual then?"

Azure tapped on Eris's shoulder, she nodded and took a step closer, trying to hear the rest. Zinnia and Azure stood up, standing next to Roxanne who was hearing this as well.

"How do you lose four students with this level of surveillance?" His tail fell limp. "I see. How many students are still in there?" He put a hand up to his forehead and sighed, "Pull the professors who are free and do not let the rest out of your sight! Once they are finished with their exam you are to escort them out, do you understand?" He closed the scroll and turned around with a pained face.

"What happened?" Azure asked first as he approached the podium.

"We lost four students in the caves below the city. Our surveillance team was ambushed and the student's weapons were found on the ground, but their bodies haven't been recovered."

"We could-"

"Absolutely not!" He slammed his fist on the desk, "I will not lose four more students to something that we have no information about."

Azure shrank back under his tone and let it go.

Zinnia put her arm around her to comfort her, "They'll show up, you can't give up hope on those who are lost."

"You're right." She jumped as another team rose from the depths. "We just have to believe in them."

After another torturous half an hour, the final group of students was escorted back to the area and they were left with a deafening silence as Lionheart stepped up to the podium. "It is time to reveal the results of the exam, and I say this with a heavy heart. This moment is supposed to be a joyful memory for all, but instead I feel like I must inform you all of an incident that occurred during this training mission."

There was a murmur through the crowd and several gasps of surprise.

"There was a group of four students who disappeared during the exam. We are still conducting the search, but we have evidence to assume the worst. Let us all have a moment of silence for those in need of our help during their time lost."

The group fell silent. The heavy air of misfortune lingered around the students as Lionheart cleared his throat, "Now, I'd like to congratulate you all for completing this exam and while I would have like to have said this under better circumstances…" He paused for dramatic effect. "You all passed."

There was an uproar of students celebrating and cheering after the shock of the news passed through them. Zinnia leapt up from her seat and grabbed Azure, lifting her in the air while spinning, "We did it! That cheeky bastard!"

Azure just smiled and hugged her back, dropping to the ground and lifting Zinnia up with a much more forceful spin to pay her back. "I'm so glad we get to stay here together!" she cried as she set her down.

Roxanne joined in on their celebration while Eris stood to the side and smiled. "Glad you all could make it." Eris spoke much more soft than she had before. "That really takes a load off my conscious."

Lionheart tapped the mic, silencing the festivities. "Now, I will call up the groups and assign the leaders. The artifacts will be handed over to me for verification." He pulled out a list of groups. "Azure Neomea, Zinnia Ashbell, Roxanne Perdita, and Eiralys Gwynfor. Please step forward and present your flags. They stepped up in the order announced and Eris handed the flags to Lionheart.

"From now on, your team shall be known as Team AZRE. And your leader will be… Azure Neomea!" He handed a flag to Azure who accepted it, stunned by the revelation.

"But our team was on the losing side!" she contested. "Eris or Roxanne should have the honor…"

"Winning does not make a leader. A leader takes care of their team and isn't afraid of diving into danger when someone needs help. You have some potential to become a great leader, just remember that even leaders require help from their team." He winked at her and planted the second flag in the ground.

The flag in Azure's hand changed from a pale white into a brilliant dark blue color, matching her Aura. The second flag stiffened and formed "AZRE" in the center, each letter changed color to match their Aura. The A turned blue and the Z orange. The R remained invisible as the E came into view as a glowing white outlined in black to make it visible. The R finally formed, slowing appearing as a void of black lines surrounded by a gold outline.

There were some whispers as it appeared, and the three others on stage glanced over to Roxanne who smiled nervously at them. They let it go when they were dismissed, saving that conversation for later. "Congratulations you four! Now…" Lionheart rattled off several more teams alphabetically until he got to one in particular.

"Slate Bergin, Lilith Umbra, Amethyst Ianthe, Thorne Sullivan. Please present to me your flags." The man in the green cloak pulled his hood down for the acceptance. His muted green hair was messy from the cloak and he pushed up a pair of glasses before standing at attention. "You will be known as Team SLAT."

Lionheart lifted one flag up, "Your leader will be Slate Bergin." He handed him the flag, who accepted it with grace. The flag turned a blue grey color and the second flag was planted. The letters turned their respective colors as well. The S turned the same as the flag, the L turned pink, the A turned purple, and the T turned a pale green.

Azure and Zinnia clapped and cheered as they exited the stage. Lilith waved to them with a large grin before disappearing into the crowd. After naming off the rest of the teams, Lionheart waited for the crowd to die down before speaking again.

"Each of the leaders of your teams will be sent a room number and building that will be your shared dorm for as long as you stay here. I would like to congratulate you all one last time on being accepted to this academy and wish you all luck on your journeys." He bowed and walked off stage onto a waiting airship that flared its engines and took off, leaving the students to board the incoming airships to take them back to Haven.

The new teams got on together, instructed by the airships as they were before. Team AZRE hopped on their respective ship and headed towards Haven Academy, each one having a renewed determination to succeed in their future.

"So, where do you guys want to celebrate tonight?" Azure asked, "We could go set up our room, go out to eat somewhere, or just run around the city doing whatever we think looks fun."

"Oof, our new team leader is already indecisive. That's not a good sign." Zinnia teased.

Azure shot a glare at Zinnia, "Hey! I didn't ask to be leader. I thought for sure Eris would get the part!"

Eris shook her head, "I wouldn't want that job. I'm not good with those kinds of things. I keep to myself, mostly."

Azure looked to Roxanne, "I wouldn't want it either! I'm barely able to keep myself together!" Roxanne gave a sheepish smile to try and reassure Azure that she was serious.

Zinnia laughed, "And I already handed the power to you earlier. I'd say you're right where you need to be, Leader."

Rolling her eyes, Azure laughed as well, "Well, how about we set up our rooms tonight. I think we all need some rest from all that fighting earlier. It shouldn't take long to set things up."

Eris looked out the window, "Unless anyone packed too much."

"Did you?" Zinnia poked her, smiling. "Take your entire room with you from Atlas?"

"No, I didn't. I could barely bring anything with me over the border. It took too much baggage space that I was not about to pay for."

"I already know Azure and I didn't pack much, since I had to lug her bags around while she was out cold."

Roxanne shook her head as well. "I don't have anything, really. Just a few pairs of clothes and my weapon…" She patted her blade.

Zinnia looked at her in shock. "That's it?!" She grabbed her shoulders, "Oooh, we are going shopping when we get some free time. We can look for clothes, eat some food, and maybe look for some accessories!" Zinnia shook her a bit excitedly, "It will be our first outing as a team!"

Azure chuckled, "I think you're scaring her, Zinnia."

Zinnia wrapped herself around Azure, "Nah. You're just jealous that I'm paying more attention to her than you!" She watched Azure's face become a flustered mess and laughed, "Ha! I knew it! Don't worry, I'll try and find something for all of us. I bet even Eris could use a wardrobe change." She glanced over at Eris who was seemingly uninterested, but she could make out a smile from the side.

"You know, we'll have to work on team composition at some point, too. I'll get right on that. Making team attacks seems like fun!" Azure was already trying to form battle strategies using what she knew from everyone.

"There's my Shooting Star! Forever stuck in fighting mode." Zinnia nudged her, "I knew you'd like being leader."

"Yeah, I think I'll really… W-what'd you call me?" Azure looked at her with half confusion and half embarrassment.

"Oh yeah! I came up with that nickname for you! I figured it out after seeing that ridiculous gun of yours fire." Zinnia got close to her. "You like it?"

"Yes… actually. I like it a lot _Smokin' Hot_." Azure laughed at Zinnia's sudden discomfort, "Hey, it's better than the other names you suggested."

Eris looked back at the group, "You have nicknames for each other already? You both are going to be hard to handle aren't you."

"Don't worry, we'll come up for names for both of you too." Zinnia started to say one, but was cut off by Eris.

"Don't you dare! I'm fine with Eris, just Eris." She gave a warning glance to Zinnia before looking back out the window.

"What about you?" Zinnia looked back to Roxanne. "You want to stick with Roxy, or do you want something more risqué?"

"Roxy?" She thought about it for a second. "I like it. Just please don't give me anything as embarrassing as yours."

"Hey, hey!" Zinnia poked her finger at her playfully, "Just because it's embarrassing doesn't mean it's wrong."

Azure waved her down, "I'll call a team meeting tomorrow so we can all introduce ourselves officially. I feel like we can make a bonfire and talk over the fire or something."

"Uh, how about we talk in the room?" Eris interjected. "I don't do well near fire… or heat in general."

"Really?" Zinnia asked.

"Yeah, that's why I had a hard time shaking your hand, your body is too warm. I'm prone to heatstroke, which is why that cold cavern was so advantageous for me."

"Then why wear the scarf?" Azure asked, pointing out the large scarf surrounding her neck.

"It's a memento from my mother. She's not dead, before you all get the wrong idea." She stopped Azure's inevitable apology before she could start, "But it's very important to me and it helps me try to acclimate to the warmer weather down here. It's my way of training to beat my weakness."

"That's a little odd, I'll be honest." Zinnia placed her hand on her shoulder, "But I also think it's sweet that you'd do that. Also," she pulled her hand behind her back after a brief moment, recalling what she said about her body temperature, "Thanks for sharing with us. I'm sure you won't open up all at once, and I don't expect you too. Any of us shouldn't be expected to."

"I'll get better about it as I get to know you all. Just be patient with me okay?" Eris gave a weak smile before turning back to the window. "Looks like we're here." The airship dipped down and landed on a pad near the dorms.

Azure pulled out her scroll and read through the message, "I've got the room and it looks like they've already put our bags inside." They stepped off the airship together and stared at their new home. "Let's start our adventure Team AZRE." She clapped once in excitement and made her way inside, followed shortly by her three teammates.


	6. Chapter 6: QPQ

Chapter 6: QPQ:

The door unlocked with a satisfying click and swung open to a mostly empty room. The walls were devoid of any decorations, four beds sat next to each other on either side of the room, with a small space between them for small nightstands, each with drawers for clothes and extra storage. In the middle of the room, directly in front of the door was a large glass sliding door that lead to an outdoor balcony.

The room itself was fairly spacious and even with the four beds taking up so much room, there was enough room for a table that could seat four in the center without losing too much walking space. On the walls near the beds were each of their suitcases.

The four students were stunned by the accommodations, even more so when they looked to the side walls. There were openings that lead to a small kitchenette on the left and a bathroom on the right, complete with their own shower. The bathroom was only large enough for one person at a time, but it was more than welcomed over sharing a hall shower with everyone else.

"Wow!" Zinnia ran across the room and looked inside the bathroom, "They really go all out here for their students."

Roxanne checked the kitchenette and opened the small fridge. "Ooh, I finally get to cook again!" She smiled and checked all the cupboards, "We'll need pots and pans…" she mumbled to herself, thinking of how she would use this new boon.

"You cook?" Azure asked, walking over to the sliding door. "Oh sweet! I can fly out from here!" She opened the slider and closed the screen door, letting in some nighttime autumn air.

"Yes! Although I haven't been able to cook properly in years. It's one of my favorite things to do!" Roxanne checked the sink and other switches to make sure everything worked.

Eris sat on a bed and swung her suitcase next to her. "Well good. At least someone can cook."

"I would've thought you could cook, Eris." Zinnia said, also checking to make sure the bathroom worked as intended.

Shaking her head Eris sighed, "Military rations and bland foods are a staple of Atlas cuisine. I never got a chance to learn."

Roxanne made a small clap with excitement, "I can teach you! I'd love to have a sous chef!"

"That'd be nice, actually." Eris smiled and opened her suitcase. "I guess we should start unpacking."

Azure pulled out her small charred box from her suitcase and placed it on one of the nightstands. "We should assign beds first. I assume we'll be splitting the sides by our respective partners?"

Zinnia collapsed on the bed farthest right. "I'll take this one. Azure, you should be by the balcony."

Roxanne took the bed nearest to the kitchen and Eris took the last one. "How much do we have in decorations? We should figure out that first before we personalize our own spaces."

Azure shrugged, "I've got nothing except clothes and a few trinkets that'll fit on my nightstand." She rummaged through her pack a bit, "I'm from a small village. We didn't have much to collect there."

A small wall clock and some posters of a couple jazz bands appeared out of Eris's case. "This is all I could afford to bring with me."

"Jazz huh?" Zinnia looked at the posters with apathy. She pulled out a few of her own posters that were for EDM and Alt-Rock bands. "Not quite my style, but I still appreciate it." Her suitcase consisted of a ton of different clothes and she had a secondary case that was filled to the brim with fire dust, in all different forms next to a small coffee maker.

Eris rolled her eyes before she turned to Roxanne, who was quietly sitting on her bed, leaning her weapon against the wall. "Where are your things?"

"Already packed. I told you I didn't bring much." She looked slightly ashamed by her lack of items.

Eris looked at her and noticed she didn't have a suitcase to begin with, only a small bag of what she assumed must have had clothes. "Where did you live before coming here? I'm a little worried that you have less things than the village girl… No offense."

"None taken. I'm also curious about this." Azure sat on her bed and leaned towards Roxanne. Eris and Zinnia started hanging up their posters but paid attention to the conversation at hand.

"I… uh…" She looked panicked and tried to avert her gaze. "I was kind of wandering for a while…"

"Wandering? Like between towns?" Eris stopped working and turned to her.

Roxanne shook her head. "No. I lived out in the forests in Vale, scavenging for food and such after I… left home." She had a very unpleasant sound in her voice when she spoke.

"You left home?" Azure shook her head seeing Roxanne shrink away from the question, "Sorry, how about another question." Roxanne gave a silent thanks and motioned for her to continue. "How long were you out there?"

"Um…" she thought about the answer for more than a few moments. "I don't know the exact time, but I think it was around…" she paused talking in a whisper now, "three years…"

"Three years!" All three shouted in unison. Zinnia sat down on her bed, "How did you survive by yourself for so long?"

"I'd rather not go into details, please. Not yet." She sighed, "But, yes it got rough at times."

There was a silence that followed her words. No one knew how to respond to the news. Azure stood up finally, "We can talk about this later, whenever you're ready." She looked around the less barren room and smiled, "Now I have a proposition for you all."

"Is this about that team meeting you were talking about?" Eris closed her drawer and pushed the suitcase under her bed.

"Yep. Got it in one!" Azure gave a long thought about how she was going to approach this, "I want us to give proper introductions, and after that I will give my proposal for the team."

The four of them sat in a circle in front of the sliding door. Eris and Roxanne on one side and Zinnia and Azure on the other.

"I want us to give our names, age, if you're human or what type of Faunus you are, where you're from, Semblance, and any special skills you excel at." She cleared her throat and started the circle. "My name is Azure and I'm eighteen. I'm an owl Faunus and my semblance is gravity manipulation." She put a dim blue circle around her arm and waved it around, "I can change the gravity on an object I touch by multiples, making things lighter is easier than heavier." The circle flickered and died, "And I'm pretty proud of my gunsmithing abilities. In fact, I want to talk to you later about your weapon Eris." She nodded towards her assault rifle. "Oh! And I'm from a small village here in Mistral called Tsukihana."

With a nod of confusion regarding her weapon, Eris took the initiative for her turn. "I'm Eiralys, also eighteen, and I'm human. I'm from Atlas, the capital, and my Semblance is invisibility. It varies in power based on the temperature and brightness of the surrounding areas. I usually use ice Dust to give it a temporary boost, but as you found out it's not perfect." Zinnia snickered at that comment, recalling how easily the shimmer could be seen.

Ignoring the outburst Eris continued, "I excel at my studies and I'm pretty proud of my knowledge of anything from Geography to Mythology and Grimm. I might not know everything, but I got top marks in all of my written exams." She puffed out her chest slightly in pride of her accomplishments.

Zinnia couldn't stop her chuckle from escaping, "Sorry, it's just funny to me that the one from Atlas is book smart."

"Hey! I spent more time reading than those barbarians who were always trying to kill each other." She spat at her, "I read in my room after our training to try and get their brainwashing out of my system."

Nodding gently Zinnia quieted down, "Nothing personal, I swear. Believe it or not, I actually appreciate the fact that you aren't some washed down Atlas soldier." Her tail twitched in agitation, "Also, I might need to come to you for help regarding my own studies…"

Eris was taken aback by her shift in mood, "Oh. Sure thing, I tutored a lot of people back in Atlas."

Zinnia coughed, "Okay. The name's Zinnia, and no one forget it!" She said in great exaggeration, "I'm a salamander Faunus from Menagerie who happens to be very skilled at Fire Dancing!" She picked up a vial from her pouch, "That's why I carry so much fire Dust with me. I want to perfect my fighting style so I can dance and fight at the same time." She flipped the vial in the air and caught it before putting it back. "My Semblance helps out a lot for that dream. I can read the movements of whoever I can see and make predictions based on your style. I can also how aura flows in your bodies and when it accumulates to activate a Semblance or something similar. It essentially lets me see what you're going to do based on how you fight."

"I knew it!" Azure said suddenly, making Zinnia jump.

"Yes, yes. You figured me out with our fight, I will admit. It fails when someone switches their fighting style and stops working when I can't see them, and it takes longer to kick in during group fights, so it's mostly useful during duels."

Azure elbowed her, "And your age?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm nineteen." She said, "Probably a little old to be freshmen aren't we?" she looked to the other three, "Usually people are admitted at sixteen and sometimes younger."

"I'm the youngest here then, at seventeen." Roxanne spoke up, "I guess we're all late to the party, huh?"

Azure nodded, "I was always protecting the village. I never even thought of sending an application until my Grandpa sent one in for me."

"I was working in Menagerie for too long. My folks told me I should aim higher and I finally decided to send one in not too long ago. It puts a damper on my usual routine, but I think it's worth the effort."

"I'm technically not a freshman." Eris said, "I transferred here, but I was still required to take the entrance exam. I don't have to take some of the beginner courses, but I'm still classified as a freshman due to the team aspect of the schools."

"Did you leave your other team, then?" Azure asked with curiosity.

Nodding with a bitter look in her eyes Eris made another sigh, "They found a replacement as soon as I showed intent to leave. They were some of those washed down soldiers you were talking about," she looked at Zinnia, "and I never got along with any of them."

"And us?" Zinnia asked, wary.

"No, you guys are fine." She smirked at Zinnia, "A little nosy and hyperactive," Zinnia relaxed and gave a lazy smile back, "But you already showed more personality in one day than those three could muster in a decade." She frowned at the unpleasant memories and looked over to Roxanne. "Sorry for taking up so much time. You should go before I go on another rant."

Roxanne froze for a moment, suddenly feeling the gazes of the others waiting to hear her story. "Um… My name is Roxanne. I'm seventeen, as I already said." She paused for a moment like she was trying to think of something but shook it off and continued. "I'm a tiger Faunus."

Her audience reacted all at once, each one had a different expression of surprise or confusion on their face.

Roxanne held up her hand and extended her claws, "I'm one of those Faunus that can pass for human. But I figure it doesn't matter in this group."

There was a laugh from Zinnia again, "So that means, in this country practically devoid of Faunus, we managed to get a team of three Faunus to one human?"

They looked at Eris who shrugged, "I don't mind. I've got nothing against Faunus, but I do agree that it's pretty ironic."

Still looking uncomfortable at speaking, Roxanne continued after retracting her claws. "I'm from a town in Vale that was destroyed years ago. Mallowwater if you want the name specifically." She paused again, but didn't allow any questions to raise out of them, "I'm skilled at cooking, after Mallowwater fell I was given the opportunity to cook by my…" She hesitated for a long period of time, tying to come up with an appropriate word for something, "guardian… I left him to travel, and ended up living in the mountains for three years before I was found by Professor Solanum near Haven's gates. He helped me get accepted here when I told him I didn't have anywhere else to go."

Azure thought about her words for a bit and was puzzled. "You didn't have anywhere to go? What about your guardian?"

"I couldn't find him." She said hastily. She slowed down and took a breath, "He's been missing for a while now. That, and I didn't exactly want to go back…" Roxanne receded into her thoughts, her gaze drifting as she recalled something she didn't want to think of. She snapped out of her trance when Zinnia yawned loudly.

Despite her tiredness, Zinnia had a serious expression on her face, "I don't like where this is going, but you don't have to continue if you don't want to. We can go over details later, once we get to know each other better." She smiled again but made sure to convey her thoughts with sincerity.

"Thank you." Roxanne shook her head a couple times, "Uh what else do I have left to say?"

"Your Semblance?" Azure shrugged.

"Oh, right. I don't know what mine is." She said with a lackluster smile. "I never really got a chance to meditate on that part of my life. I just assumed my Aura was too weak to properly form my Semblance and decided to train my physical strength instead, to make up for my lack of Aura."

"Well, that's what this school is for! You'll definitely figure out your Semblance after you progress here, I'm sure of it. And as far as your strength goes, I think you're more than strong enough." Azure rotated her shoulder, "I'm pretty strong myself, but you broke through me even with my gravity giving me help! I think you're more than capable, Aura or not."

"Thanks. I appreciate the encouragement." She shrugged, "I think that's about it for me."

A loud clap came from Azure and she sprang up, "All right! Now that we're officially introduced I'd like to form a kind of trust pact with each other. It's something my Grandpa did with his team back in the day and he said it helped smooth out all kinds of conflicts in the past."

"What's this grand scheme of yours then?" Eris asked with minor curiosity.

"QPQ." She said proudly. After the others just stared at her blankly, she explained, "It's called Quid Pro Quo. What this means, if you all choose to accept this, is that we can invoke QPQ if we want personal information from one of us. Quid Pro Quo is essentially a tradeoff of knowledge in this case. So say you want to know something about me, you'd say, 'QPQ', and give them information equal to the information you want from them."

She looked over at Zinnia, "For example. Zinnia, QPQ! My parents are both dead, one killed by bandits the other killed by Grimm. They were both Hunter and Huntress." Eris and Roxanne both looked at her in shock at how effortlessly she divulged that fact.

Knowing the story full well, Zinnia nodded and replied, "My parents are both living in Menagerie. My mother is a singer and my father is a dancer."

Azure nodded and turned back to Eris and Roxanne, "Like that. You don't have to actually say QPQ, by the way. It's just an implied thing that we should practice and it's usually said to show how seriously you want to know the answer."

"And why are we subject to give our information out so easily in exchange for something that may not be as personal?" Eris said, skeptical.

"Because keeping secrets from your team can lead to bad things." Azure said sternly. "Right now, I want everyone here to swear that you won't keep any new secrets from each other, and that eventually all of our old secrets will come to the surface if needed."

Everyone kept silent at this proposition. Zinnia scratched the back of her head, "Keeping that promise is a hard bargain, and I doubt we all want to share our deepest secrets with each other on a moment's notice."

Azure nodded, "I know. I'm not asking for you all to tell every little secret you have, and while I know there are some things you might want to keep to yourself, it's better for us all if we are able to talk to each other freely about our pasts even if it means digging up some unpleasant memories."

She stood up and looked out the slider, "Keeping important secrets from the team will make things harder as we get to know each other, especially when we get farther down the line. If you don't want to talk about it yet, then say it later. But please, just know that as a team we need to be able to confide to each other and it's better to do it sooner rather than later. Secrets laid bare by someone other than the team, can lead to disaster. Weaknesses, disasters, biases, or even something as mundane as your love life. These are all things that we should know about each other, in case that knowledge brings about a much greater disaster that could have been prevented."

"And here I thought you said you weren't good with team activities Azure." Zinnia said, impressed by her maturity. "I'm all for it. I don't have much to hide, believe it or not. I certainly don't keep many secrets from anyone, so it doesn't affect me much." She looked to Eris and Roxanne, "Although you two seem to have some baggage that might not be as pleasant as my life entailed."

Eris nodded, "Although I'm hesitant to share my personal life with others, I'm willing to give it a shot." She looked at Azure, who had turned around to face them again. "Just be patient with me."

"Take all the time you need." Azure said, shifting her attention to Roxanne, "Roxy?"

Roxanne had her head down in thought, avoiding eye contact with everyone, "I want to believe in this team, and I don't want to see this opportunity go to waste, for anyone here." She struggled internally with something in the back of her mind, "But I will try my best to adhere to this condition."

The other three looked at her with interest and suspicion, but accepted it as the best that she'll give them. Roxanne looked up and noticed their wary eyes as they tried to interpret the meaning behind her words.

Roxanne shied back after she spoke, "Sorry. I have a lot of explaining to do, and I will explain it to you all later." Eris put a hand on her shoulder, "I swear I'll tell you everything when I'm ready, but I'm not quite ready to share my secrets just yet."

Zinnia looked at her with great scrutiny, "I don't know what that means, but if it's something that we should know, please share with us sooner rather than later. I know it may be hard to open up to strangers like us, but if we're going to work together, if you have something that needs to be explained, we're all here for you."

Squeezing her shoulder harder, Eris spoke calmly, "Please come see us if something is bothering you. As much as I don't want to admit it, Azure's right. We need to be completely honest with each other if we are going to be on the same team for an extended period of time. If it's something urgent, you've got to be the one who takes the initiative or else that secret will cost you more for holding it than just coming clean."

"I know." Roxanne said meekly, "I will tell you all about my story later, but it's a long story and I've been conditioned to keep this secret close to my chest. But I'm telling you this now, to let you know that I have something I don't want to keep from you all and I'm willing to share it, but not right now. Please, just give me some time."

Azure nodded in acceptance, "I understand your intent. As long as you're willing to share, that's all that matters to me right now." Looking at the clock she noted how late it was getting and decided to make plans for tomorrow. "What's everyone doing tomorrow? I figure we'll go shopping for supplies, but is there anything else we should do before or after that?"

"I have an appointment with Professor Solanum in the morning." Roxanne checked the clock as well, "He told me I should get another checkup after the fights."

"You mentioned him earlier, who's this professor?" Azure asked, "I don't recall his name on the directory."

"He's the new school nurse. He's only been with them for a year at this point, but they say he's a skilled doctor who has proven himself many times already." Roxanne yawned herself, feeling the after effects of the day catching up to her. "He's a little intense when you first meet him. But he's a good man at heart and he apparently gives very solid advice to those he doesn't scare away."

"Sounds interesting." Zinnia said, "What's so scary about a nurse?"

Roxanne chuckled, "You'll have to see him yourself to figure that out."

"I should get my wing checked out with him, then." Azure looked at her bandaged wing and frowned, "I'm still healing faster than usual, but I think I should get his opinion on what happened at the hospital too."

Zinnia nodded, "Agreed. Should we all give the good doctor a visit tomorrow morning then?" She looked at Roxanne, "Mind if we tag along?"

"Not really." She thought about it for a moment, "After he's done with me I'm sure he'll take you in for a checkup as well."

"What exactly happened to you in the hospital, if you don't mind me asking?" Eris inquired, "I remember you saying you weren't in peak condition during the exam, but you're making it sound like something worse happened."

"Ha…" Azure laughed awkwardly, "My heart stopped while I was being treated in the hospital. When I woke up, I was nearly fully healed but I felt like shit. Apparently, something inside me was producing Aura and speeding up the recovery process, but it was disrupting my own Aura and I had a bad reaction."

"So you really were the Nevermore Slayer, huh?" Eris looked amused by the revelation, but also worried for her health.

"Please don't call me that, I've had enough of the spotlight for one day." Azure continued her explanation when Roxanne and Eris didn't look satisfied with her answer, "I had a couple more episodes during the exam while I was fighting some Grimm, and a minor one while I was fighting you Roxy." She recalled the scenes and sighed, "It didn't matter much in the long run, anyway. I still think you would have beaten us if I were normal anyway, so don't take that as an excuse!"

"Yep." Zinnia said with great sarcasm, "She's just a big ball of trouble."

Azure elbowed her with a smile, "That decides tomorrow morning, anything else you guys want to do before turning in?" Azure failed to stifle a yawn.

"Well, it's already night, we should just sleep so we can go see that doctor tomorrow." Eris suggested, looking at everyone's exhausted state, herself included.

"That sounds wonderful." Azure yawned and pulled her blankets off the bed. "We can set up a chore schedule or something later. We should figure out our mornings and evening routines as well…"

"You're thinking too much." Zinnia grabbed her shoulders and shook her, "I'm sure we'll get into a rhythm after a couple days of trial and error."

Zinnia walked over to her drawers and pulled out a graphic t-shirt and some pajama shorts. She changed without a second thought and looked back to the others staring at her.

"What? We're all girls here! No need to take turns if we can just change here. You don't have to, I just don't care about things like that."

Azure and Eris conceded and followed her example. Eris dawned a white night gown and Azure put on some sweatpants and a loose short sleeve shirt.

Roxanne fled into the bathroom and emerged later wearing a black sweatshirt and long black pants. "Sorry. I can't do that."

Zinnia shrugged, "To each their own." She pulled her covers off and motioned to the light. "We're gonna need a few lamps in here, since we only have the overhead."

Azure nodded and walked to the switch, "I'll get it. I'm team leader after all." She yawned and waited by the button.

The other two got into their beds and under their covers. Zinnia sat up with her legs over the side and waited for her to turn the lights off.

After everyone was settled, Azure gave another yawn, "Goodnight Team AZRE…" She frowned as she walked back over to her bed in the dark, her Faunus vision helping her find her way back with ease. "It still feels weird saying my name like that…" She got back to her bed and found Zinnia staring at her expectantly. "What?" She whispered, trying not to disturb the others.

"So… I found a nice spot I want to show you. It'll be a full moon tomorrow night, so maybe we could go tomorrow? After our little outing." She looked almost nervous as she spoke, "Just us two, if you don't mind."

Azure tilted her head, "Sure, I love full moons and surprises. I'm usually up at night anyway." She yawned again, "Although at the pace I've been moving, I think I'm finally going to break my bad habit."

"Well, save your habit for one more night, I promise you won't regret it." She smiled and flipped her covers over herself, turning away. "Goodnight, Azure."

"Goodnight, Zinnia." Azure smiled and pulled her covers over, laying in a slightly uncomfortable position so her wing wasn't in harm's way. Sleep quickly too hold of her and she passed out almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	7. Chapter 7: Doctor Solanum

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Chapter 7: Doctor Solanum/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure drifted into her dreams quickly that night, starting off in a large open field that she frequented in her village. She held a stone sword, the same one she used as a training weapon for her Semblance training and fighting. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She heard her father call out from behind her, "Keep up your form, Azure! Your focus has improved since last time, very good!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Her breath hitched as she heard his voice for the first time in years. She turned around to find no one, just an empty field of dry grass. The voice continued out of her sight, always coming from behind but could never be seen. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Feel the Aura flow through you. Visualize the circle around your weapon and feel them both as an extension of your body and soul." His voice was hoarse but still filled with kindness, "Never let up on your strikes. Mercy betrays the strong and feeds the weak."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Dad… Where are you?" Azure pleaded through the repeated lessons. "Screw the lessons, just let me see your face!" The words vanished into the wind with each turn. She fell to her knees, looking at the grass below her. "Please… just let me see your face again."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The grass rustled with the sound of footsteps. She saw two torn boots appear in front of her. She recognized the boots and looked up slightly to the familiar suit of her father. She looked back down and stood tall, her eyes closed. She opened them slowly, bracing herself for their reunion./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She was met by the faceless man from her previous nightmare. Her heart sank and she once again stood frozen before it. All hopes of seeing her father were transformed into terror./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man's head was already split open, showcasing the hellhole that was his mouth. Even without his eyes, she could tell that he was looking at her, scanning her entire body with his implied gaze. During the process, Azure didn't feel the searing pain or her heart stop. Instead, she felt furious that this thing ruined the one time she might have been able to see her father./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"It did nothing but wobble like a drunk in front of her. Bubbling noises came from its neck and, after what seemed like an eternity of being forced to stare at this creature, she felt herself slowly regain control of her body. She felt all of her aggression flow through her. Bringing the stone sword in a tight grasp, she made a swing at the thing's head. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Its head burst into a black ooze, covering her in a slime that scorched her skin. The body reached out at her neck before its body liquefied. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure saw her arms begin to melt away, the ooze now spreading out over her body completely. She fell onto her back and watched the sun disappear as the slime covered her eyes. As the daylight faded she opened her eyes, jolting up in another cold sweat. She looked around the unfamiliar room and panicked for a moment before she remembered where she was. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Thankful the other three were still sleeping, she glanced at the clock and noted the early five o'clock position. With the room still dark, she quietly grabbed some clothes. She noticed Zinnia's horrible sleeping posture, blankets only covering her foot with her body almost perpendicular to the bed. Her pillow still managed to stay under her head in the most precarious positions possible./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She smiled at the sight and snuck into the bathroom, nearly tripping over Zinnia's tail. During her shower, she removed her bandages on her wing to check her wing and wash it, and was surprised that it was almost fully healed. She spread it without much strain but flapping it still hurt. She appreciated the improvement and decided to give it some much needed air. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Walking out of the bathroom after making herself presentable, Azure crept out the slider and sat on a chair outside, waiting for the sun to rise. She shivered, cursing herself for not bringing out a blanket for the cold morning breeze. She pulled her wings over herself in an attempt to warm herself up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She fell into a daze, watching the twilit sky turn orange with the rising sun. A chair slid next to her and before she could turn, a blanket covered her and her visitor. Zinnia sat next to her, setting down a cup of coffee on the side table, and watched the sunset without saying a word, sharing the warmth of the blanket with her. She just sipped her own coffee and pulled her feet up to the seat with her free arm around her legs./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"After the sun had broken the mountain peaks Azure glanced over at Zinnia. "I thought you weren't a morning person."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Didn't sleep well last night, someone was tossing around in her sleep last night. You had me worried." She scratched her cheek, slightly looking away, "Plus, you kind of stepped on my tail when you woke up."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure looked down, "O-oh… Sorry about that." She took the coffee and took a generous sip. "Thanks for the coffee."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Just put this on my tab. You still owe me a coffee date, if I recall." She gave a tired grin to her before looking back to the mountainside surrounding them. "You still doing okay? You looked shaken up after that Ursa fight yesterday, and now you look like you've seen a ghost."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure flinched, "Too close to home." She put the coffee down and pulled her arms around herself. "I had another nightmare." She started shivering again, but not from the cold./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"An arm wrapped around her, "I could've guessed that. Wanna talk about it?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I heard my dad… He was talking to me like normal, training advice of course…" She stopped and chuckled slightly, "He was so close to me, but when I saw him… It wasn't him." She felt the burning on her arms as she recalled the black ooze covering her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Nodding as she spoke, Zinnia shook her a bit, braking her trance. "Listen, I don't know what it's like to lose someone that close to me, but I knew people who did. And while I don't think I could possibly understand what you've been going through these past few days." She laid her head on her shoulder and kept looking forward. "I'll try my best to help you through it all and if I can't help you, then ask Eris or Roxy. Please just don't try and bear your pain by yourself."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure took in a deep breath and leaned into her, "I've seen this monster in my dreams twice now, ever since the hospital. It freezes me in fear and burns my skin. It impersonated my dad and when I killed it, it melted me down to nothing."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm surprised you have any fear in that little body of yours." Zinnia commented, "What's it look like?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Like a Grimm stuffed inside a person. It has a human body, no face, and its head splits open into a pit of hellfire." She didn't shiver this time, feeling comforted by Zinnia's presence. "The first time, it just lifted me up and burnt me alive. The second time it was wearing my father's clothes and when I smashed its head, it burst into a liquid that melted my body."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Your dreams are messed up sister." Zinnia's tail stiffened in response to her own remark, "Sorry, I'm not good at holding my tongue." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure chuckled, "Please don't hold back. I love your little quips, they really calm me down." Her wings rustled under the blanket as she grabbed for her coffee again. "Please, continue."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You said this only happened after the hospital?" Azure nodded with another full sip in her mouth. Zinnia sighed, "I don't know what it means, but maybe your body got spooked after getting a beatdown so suddenly. Sometimes it takes longer than just a couple days to get over something like that. Your body may be healed but your mind is still recovering from the fight. Not to mention you fought two more intense battles directly after recovering."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Maybe I'm paranoid… but I think it's more than that." She shook her head in contemplation. "I really should go visit the doctor today…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I told you! Waiting to check on these things can cause some major problems."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, we've got time to kill before they both wake up." She checked her scroll for the time. "Got anything particular in mind?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia yawned loudly, "We could just stay like this for a while. I'm still tired and you could use the relaxation." She gave a smirk, "And I could keep spouting off those quips you love so much."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Please don't ruin the moment." Azure said, using the blanket to hide her embarrassment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Fine." Zinnia felt her wing twitch under the blanket, "Are you sure you should have your wing out so early?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's fine. I still can't fly on it yet, but I don't think it's broken anymore." She pushed the wing over Zinnia's head, covering her face with feathers. "See?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She laughed, "I don't see, actually." The wing retracted under the blanket and Azure was grinning more naturally, "Feeling better?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yes. Thank you." Azure looked back into the room and saw Roxanne and Eris looking through the slider, sitting on Eris's bed. They froze as Azure looked in. Eris turned away awkwardly and shuffled through some drawers, Roxanne panicked and tripped on her way to the bathroom with her change of clothes. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I see the others are awake." Zinnia laughed again, "They seem to be having fun." She drank the rest of her coffee and stood up, taking the blanket with her. "Come on, we should get a move on."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure felt a shiver go down her spine as she got up. "I was just getting warm too." She chugged the second half of her coffee and joined Zinnia inside./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"They walked in as Roxanne walked back out. "Sorry, we didn't want to spoil the moment." She grinned apologetically./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No worries." Azure washed out her and Zinnia's cups, "Want to snag some breakfast before we head to the doctor?" She was talking to Roxanne, but noticed Eris and Zinnia stand in front of her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Don't forget me!" Zinnia feigned feeling hurt, "I want to see this doctor too! And you can buy me that coffee."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris sighed, "As much as I'd like to have some quiet for myself, I figure we should do the shopping together to make sure we get everything."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, okay then. Our first team mission starts today!" Azure grabbed her belt and looked through her scroll while the others finished preparing. "There's a café just outside the school gates where we can grab some food to go. Everyone fine with that?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Roxanne shrugged, "I would've made something, but since we don't have anything to cook with, I guess it'll have to do."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure opened the door, "Then let's head out to our first day as a fully-fledged team!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Huzzah!" Zinnia mocked her enthusiasm and swiftly dodged a punch from Azure, "What? I'm just trying to get the team pumped for a visit to a doctor."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The banter followed them all the way to the café. Eris and Roxanne were farther back, letting them verbally duke it out. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They can't always be this loud can they?" Eris whispered to Roxanne, "They have to stop at some point."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I think it's just in their nature." Roxanne smiled, "Although I do wish they'd quiet down a little. They're bringing too much attention to us."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As they entered the café, Azure and Zinnia chuckled at each other and Azure turned to the group. "My treat, everyone order what you want and we can get going." She stepped up to the counter and got a regular black coffee. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia got a coffee with a ton of vanilla creamer, Eris picked up an ice coffee, and Roxy ordered some complex concoction of flavors the others had never heard of before. They each grabbed some sort of sandwich to go and left for the campus. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"After they reached the campus gates Roxanne stepped out in front of them and threw away her garbage, "I'll go check if he's here, you guys just… stay here and wait for me to get checked out."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Why can't we come with you?" Eris asked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He doesn't like to be crowded when he's doing checkups. I figure I can tell him the situation and get a walk-in appointment for you while I'm in there. It shouldn't take too long." Roxanne gave an awkward smile and ran off towards one of the buildings./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, what should we do until then?" Zinnia looked around the courtyard. "We could just walk around the courtyard; take in the sights."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris nodded, "That actually sounds nice. Just please keep the banter to a minimum so I can hear myself think." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Sorry about that Eris." Azure grinned apologetically, "We get excited easily. We'll try to contain ourselves this time." She looked over to Zinnia, "Right?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Right!" Zinnia repeated, "I'll keep my jokes to a minimum… for now."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thank you." Eris said and turned towards the courtyard. "Looks like they have a pretty large area out here for the students. I wonder if they do mock battles out here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Probably." Azure noted, "There are scratches and cracks everywhere with how much they've repaired this cobblestone."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris looked down at the cracks and even a couple soot stains from fires in a couple spots, "Very observant." She paused for a moment and looked over to a couple of people standing a bit too close to each other. The girl behind the boy looked like she was struggling against him. "Hey." She tapped Azure on the shoulder and pointed to the two./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure sighed and started walking over to them, "Let's go make sure she doesn't need help." The other two followed, with Zinnia cracking her knuckles with a wicked grin./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As they approached they noticed the two looked like a human boy with a Faunus girl. As they got even closer they could see him pulling on her whiskers and she was obviously distressed. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure now started loosening up, ready for a fight until Eris put a hand out in front of both of them. "What?!" Zinnia said, obviously outraged that she would stop them. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris pointed past the two at a man who was limping up towards them, using a battered wooden cane. He was in a dark grey jacket and pants with brown boots. The purple shirt under the jacket was wrinkled and only half-tucked in. His jacket was torn and looked as though it would fall off him at any moment. His boots were well worn, muddy, and torn. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He approached closer and his tinted glasses glared in the morning light. His face, even from far away, seemed exhausted and his muted red hair was turning grey in small areas almost like embers turning to ash./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He walked directly between the two students and pushed them apart without saying a word, only to keep walking towards the campus. The girl ran away from him towards Azure and Zinnia and hid behind them, while the boy turned towards the limping man and yelled after him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey old man! Keep your nose out of my business!" The boy yelled out in anger./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man was limping slowly, so he hadn't made it far. Without stopping he simply talked back, "You should really rethink what you do in your free time. It's not productive to waste all of your time on such hateful activities." His voice was rough and just as tired as he looked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The boy took a few steps after him and gave an arrogant smirk. "What? I was just teaching her the difference between Humans and Faunus. There's nothing wrong with a little lesson in biology?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man stopped and gave a wary look towards the boy. "You wouldn't know the difference between a Faunus's tail and your right hand. Enlighten me child. What, pray tell, were you teaching her that she already doesn't know?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""She thought she was equal to us humans. So I simply showed her how much of a freak she was. She needed to know her place." Zinnia nearly growled at his words in the background, but was reined in by Azure who wanted to see where this was heading./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It may be a little early for me to give students a lecture here, so I'll just give a friendly reminder." The man turned slowly and looked him in the eyes. "It is not a race or species you should be concerned with. You cannot judge the whole without considering the individuals who complete it. As far as I'm concerned, you are the one who should learn their place."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You're defending them? Surely you must be joking. Why should we give up our resources and our land to satisfy their needs? We should've wiped off this continent when we had the chance."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"A thunderous crash stunned the small crowd that had started forming around the scene. Silence followed as the man had created a small crater in front of him, splintering the cane in the process. "Dearie me, look at what you made me do." His form was still and while his voice remained calm, there was a presence that muddled the air and made it hard to breathe. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man slowly rose to his full height, his hunch all but disappeared and he walked as if he were gliding on air without a hint of a limp. He stopped a few paces away and took a deep breath. "You seem to have these delusions that Humans are better than Faunus. That ancient bias, most likely imprinted in your head by your idiotic parents, is nothing more than racist slander." He brought his face inches away from the boy's. "You ignored my lesson, I said it is the individual that needs to be judged by their ethics. And you my boy, are on the lowest end of the spectrum."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""W-what?" The boy looked into his eyes and when he saw the severity of his words he shrunk back a bit and swallowed./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He pulled his head back but kept eye contact. "The Humans act just as animalistic as the Faunus. The Faunus are just as intelligent, just as capable to cause harm, and just as wild as the Humans. If anything, the fact that they don't act as much as they are capable of speaks volumes for their people."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I…" He paused for a moment before conjuring up a response, "Th-they're freaks of nature! How can something like that be allowed to live on this world?!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He took a full step closer to the boy and bumped him back with a poke from his finger. "So what you're essentially saying, is that because they have an extra appendage or some em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"deformation/em, they're expected to comply to torture and execution?" he hissed out the last sentence, "How about I sew on some ears, or maybe a tail? Maybe lop off a limb or two?" he leaned in close and gave a glance around his body, "I guess you would deserve to be hunted like a Grimm? I would so dearly like to have a physical trophy of my prey for once."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You can't do that! And even if you did, it's not like I was born with it!" He stepped back, only to be followed step for step by the furious man. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Do you think the Faunus chose to be born with horns, ears, and claws?" He stood fully again and stared him down. "I'm hoping that this school can clear that clouded mind of yours and turn you into a respectable Hunter." He pulled his glasses down a bit to see him without the black lenses. "And if you don't, I'll have to give you a lesson on em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"deformations /emthat you will finally be able to appreciate."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The boy wound up for a strike and charged at him. The man moved faster than anyone from the crowd could see. With lightning-like reflexes, the man had parried the fist and struck with swift jabs to his stomach, shins, and finally head, breaking the boy's aura in a single combo. He sputtered and clutched at his head and his attempts to speak were met with nothing but gasps for air./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I didn't even see him move!" Azure was astounded, "Who is this guy?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris looked at Zinnia and saw she looked more than shocked, "You okay?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""My Semblance." She said quietly, "I couldn't see it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He moved too fast for your Semblance?" Azure tore her eyes away for a moment to confirm./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I couldn't make sense of his movements, I only saw bits of each movement, but I couldn't keep up."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"They looked back to the fight and the man had shrunk back to his previous posture and was staring at the boy on the ground./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The boy finally got some air back and managed to spit some words out. "You can't do that! You're a professor aren't you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The man cocked his head slightly and shook his head, "I'm sorry, where do you think you are? I'm sure a em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Combat School /emlike this has rules for improv fights. In fact, that was an attack on a professor who acted in self-defense." He turned away and started taking notes on a notepad, "Student: Colby Tucson. Offense…" he wrote a few lines on a paper and tore it off, placing it in one of his jacket pockets. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Break it up everyone. The show's over." He turned and walked towards one of the offices, and ended up passing by Azure and others. As he limped by he didn't make eye contact, but instead spoke quietly to the three students, "Glad to see students willing to stand up for their peers." He disappeared into the building Roxanne went into and left the three speechless. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"After the crowd dispersed, Azure shook her head and turned to the others. "Well, that was something. Who do you think he was?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""The asshole said he was a professor right?" Zinnia looked towards the building, "You don't think he's the doctor do you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He fits the description." Eris thought back, "Scary and intense but good natured. And he went into the same building Roxanne did."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Should we follow?" Zinnia asked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No, Roxy said she'd tell us when he's done…" Eris's scroll rung with the default message sound. "That was fast." She looked at the message and motioned to the others. "She said he's checking on her now and should be done in a couple minutes. He's willing to see you for a quick checkup."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris checked the time and shrugged, "A couple minutes, huh? Should we just wait outside?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The group moved to the offices and stepped in front of a door with the nametag of em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Prof. Solanum/em. Roxanne popped out, throwing on her jacket and waved them inside. "I've got to run an errand for him since he's doing me a favor, I'll be back in a few minutes." She stepped out of the way and ushered them inside before leaving in a brisk jog./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"They entered the large room and looked around. It looked just like any infirmary would. Multiple beds surrounded with curtains, several trays loaded with knives and chemicals, IV bags lined up with empty bags ready for use./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Professor Solanum?" Azure asked into the empty room. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"A rolling chair came into view from behind a bed and the same man from before looked over at them. His glasses were off and they could see nothing but black eyes with none of the whites showing. "One moment, I'll be with you shortly." He disappeared behind the bed and came back holding three vials of blood which he placed in a machine and opened a curtain to one of the empty beds. "Sit."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He motioned to Azure, and she sat down on the bed waiting for his directions. "I wanted to ask you about-" She started but was interrupted by his hand./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Your broken wing and side effects of the overdose of Aura you had in your system recently." He grabbed a clipboard and put it under his arm. "First your wing." He turned her slightly and studied it for a bit./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How'd you know about the second part?" Azure asked as she unfolded her wing as far as she could without it hurting./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm the one who administered it for you." He said simply, "Your wing will be healed by tomorrow. Do not fly or put strain on it for a few more days after that, and it'll be ready for normal use again."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You did that to me!?" Azure said, slightly annoyed at his monotonous delivery. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You were in pain, you wanted to get into the examination, and I wanted to help." He said sitting back in a chair and scratched down some notes. "There are some pretty bad side effects, and I'm sorry for not consulting you first, but I figured you were worth the chance."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Isn't that malpractice?" Eris asked over the conversation./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Possibly. I played the role of combat medic when I was still with my team and I'm just a temporary nurse now, so I'm not exactly a registered doctor. I've never had to adhere to the doctor's code of conduct before and old habits die hard." He spoke to Eris and then back to Azure. "If you want to report me, go ahead, but I'll say now, I've never done this before, and I honestly don't know what came over me this time. But I heard the news, and felt like I should help you out."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure looked him over and looked at the other two. Zinnia was obviously annoyed but shrugged. Eris sighed and motioned back to her. "I'll keep this to myself, only because of how much Roxanne trusts you." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He pulled out another clipboard "Now, I have some questions about the side effects of that drug."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Go ahead."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Have you experienced nausea or fatigue when using aura, dust or your semblance?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I felt it for a few hours after the hospital, but it's completely gone now." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The professor stopped writing for a moment and looked at her. "Just a few hours? That's outrageously fast."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yeah, how long does it usually last?" Azure asked confused./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""About a full day on the first use, usually." He confirmed and continued writing on the pad. "Were there any side effects while fighting during the entrance exam?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I had to fight a couple of Grimm, and during the fight it felt like I was being stabbed in the heart each time they so much as looked at me." Azure remembered the Ursa the most./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's unfortunately normal. That should wear off in a couple more days, so I would advise staying away from Grimm or strenuous fights until then." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris spoke up again, "How is that a normal side effect? What kind of medicine reacts to the presence of Grimm?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No ordinary medicine, and that's all you're getting from me." He looked up as Azure raised her hand, "Yes?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Is it only Grimm that get this reaction?" She asked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Not necessarily. But usually it is. Why do you ask?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It happened again when I fought Roxanne, but no one else."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"There was a noticeable hesitation before he spoke again, "While it is rare, you can also feel the effects when under immense stress or when attacked by someone of a more brutal nature…" He let that information sink in for a moment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So, it'll be gone in a couple days?" Azure asked for confirmation./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yes, it'll be gone as soon as the nightmares will disappear." He said just as monotonous as everything else. "Which brings me to your next point, I assume."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure nodded, some relief came over both Zinnia and Azure's faces. "Yes, I was going to ask about that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""The nightmares are another unfortunate side effect of this drug, I am sorry for any unpleasantries they may have caused. I know how bad they can get." He bowed his head in an attempt at a sincere apology./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They're really unsettling, to say the least." Azure shivered, "But at least I have a reason for them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What is this drug of yours? If you won't tell us the specifics, what is it's purpose?" Eris spoke up. "I don't remember anything that can inject aura in liquid form. This could be a scientific breakthrough if this can be refined."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'd rather this be kept secret." Solanum started, "It was jokingly called called Ex-Machina by my team, it's meant to heal severe wounds quickly. The side effects are just as severe as the wounds and overuse can cause permanent damage to your psyche, let alone the repercussions of other aura influencing your body."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Is this experimental, or safe?" Zinnia asked next./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's technically experimental, but I've used it plenty of times while developing it to understand its uses. When used once under the right conditions, yes it is safe." He looked back to Azure, "But DO NOT request this from me again. Despite the nickname, I have seen the effects of overuse and its destructive side effects on multiple users. And I would rather not have anyone else have that brought upon them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure looked him over. "Did you use it on yourself?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I had to test it on someone until I knew it was safe for my team, so yes, I've used it a dozen too many times." He spoke slowly and with a hint of regret. "It does not exist, are we clear?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Crystal." Azure said. The other two nodded in solidarity./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Good. You'll be fine from now on, the worst has passed and you seem to be coming out of it sooner than most. I'd wager your body is already used to repairing itself from similar or worse injuries, given the remarkable resistance to this drug's side effects. I'd give you one more night of uncomfortable sleep and resting for a couple more days to be safe, and you should be fine after that. If these persist come see me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thank you sir." Azure said as she got up from the bed, "I'm relieved to hear I'm not going crazy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Do come back for anything other than this as well. I might even be assigned to give lessens to you lot at some point, I do enjoy company despite my disposition."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We will!" Azure waved as she left the office./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He seemed… shady." Zinnia said after the door closed./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I agree." Eris said, "He's very unsettling to listen to and his work ethics are questionable."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""But he seemed like he is only trying to help, and he hid nothing from us. I'm willing to give him a solid chance before passing judgement." Azure looked at the time as they exited the building to wait for Roxanne./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You all good Roxy?" Azure asked as she half-jogged outside./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yep! I'm all cleared for the week, just didn't." She said cheerfully./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Week?" Zinnia asked./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""He wants me to come in each week for the first month to get some base readings on my condition. After that it'll be monthly."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I see." Eris said, thinking to herself for a bit. "Well, now that that's over. I guess we need to go shopping for supplies."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Let's see then…" Zinnia pulled out a small notebook from her pocket. "I've picked out some stores we'll need to visit." She flipped through a few pages. "Anyone mind if we take a few trips?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The other three looked at the notebook incredulously. "How much is on that thing?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Seven pages, why?" Zinnia flipped through the notebook, "We should stop by the supermarket, food and cooking utensils should probably come first, then…" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"While she listed off the course she had plotted, Eris and Azure looked at each other. Roxanne on the other hand was delighted by the prospect of finally being able to cook. The team walked towards the city with renewed energy./span/p 


	8. Chapter 8: Keeping Promises

Chapter 8: Keeping Promises:

The apartment door slammed shut and Zinnia dusted off her hands. "We're done!" She looked over the finished room and nodded in approval.

Azure and Eris were lying face down on their beds. "Finally!" Came Azure's muffled voice. "It's only…" she lifted her head to look at the new alarm clock on her nightstand. "Just after ten at night. How can a city have so many shops!?"

"Ok village girl, shopping around like that should be a dream for someone with so little choices, how could you complain?" Zinnia grinned at her, "See? Roxanne's got the spirit!"

Roxanne was humming in the kitchen, making notes of what they bought and recalling recipes that she liked.

"She doesn't count! Her endurance is unnatural!" Eris also spoke into her bed. "I'm just glad it was cloudy out or else I might not have made it."

"You're over exaggerating, right Azure?"

Azure waved her hand behind her back from the bed, "I'm with Eris on this one. That was worse than any training I've ever done."

"Hmph, both of you are no fun." Zinnia looked back to Roxanne, "You seem happy with our haul at least."

Roxanne closed her notebook and nodded, "I'm very happy, actually. I do feel a little bad at how much you spent for us."

"What's the use of the money I have if I can't spend it for friends and luxury?"

"Well it means a lot to us." Azure let her wings fall limp, covering the bed. "Don't take my exhaustion for ungratefulness, I very much appreciate what you had prepared for us."

"Same." Eris said, still in her bed.

"Well, you're welcome." She said with an exaggerated bow, "Now can we stop with the thanks and appreciate the results."

"She's already appreciating it." Azure motioned to Eris, who had fallen asleep on her bed. She pulled her wings back in and sat on the edge of her bed.

"And I'm going to cook breakfast for everyone tomorrow morning to show my own appreciation." She closed her notes and put grabbed her night clothes. "I hope I haven't gotten too rusty."

"Azure and I have some unfinished business tonight, so we'll leave Eris to you." Zinnia winked at Azure and grabbed a jacket and a briefcase. With a smile, Zinnia grabbed Azure's hand and pulled her towards the door. "We'll be back in a bit!"

"Ok, have fun?" Roxy said as the two rushed out of the apartment, leaving her confused and alone with a sleeping Eris.

The two walked for a while in the dark until they reached a large waterfall near an empty park. In front of the cascade was a flat rock big enough for someone to walk around on and a bridge that crossed the small river that flowed out into the park. The clouds parted and unleashed a silver shimmer over the misty stage.

"This is amazing!" Azure was captivated by the shimmering light that engulfed the rock in front of her.

From behind she heard Zinnia opening her suitcase, bringing out several dust vials and placing them into a belt around her waist. "You ain't seen nothing yet." She threw her jacket off and leaped onto the rock. She struck a dramatic pose and wrapped her whip-sword around her body. "Ready?" she asked as a shimmer of orange flowed down her body.

"Whenever you are." She leaned on the railing of the bridge.

Zinnia ignited her swords in a brilliant red glow that sparked and steamed off of the mist surrounding her. She started off slowly, moving the whip in a slow circular pattern around her body and each time it would have hit her body it was repelled by her Aura which sent sparks of energy floating away.

The whip spun into her hoop and she make several mesmerizing loops behind her back, transitioning by spinning it around her neck. On the final transfer, she brought it around her body and spun herself in the opposite direction of the hoop. Her motions were a combination of multiple types of fire and belly dancing fused together into a mesmerizing performance. After a couple twirls she started loading different vials into each section of the blade while keeping the hoop in motion.

With every different vial loaded, the fires on each segment went out one by one until the stage was dark. After a second or two of darkness, the hoop erupted into a rainbow of different colored flames, mixing and twirling, causing the waterfall behind her to reflect the same colors in a brilliant display of light. The reflection off her tail mimicked the fire and made an illusion of another inflamed sword.

The hoop detached into the whip once again and made several strikes. When the whip hit this time, however, the Aura sparked into the color of the flame. The strikes became more frequent until the blade was almost too fast to see. The sword left behind a streak of rainbow light which eventually sprayed out multicolored Aura sparks that danced around Zinnia and evaporated into steam from the mist.

The movements slowed and the flames went out one after another until only the red tip was left lit. In a final twirl, Zinnia drew a circle of flames around her feet that sparked and lingered for a moment as she bowed, finishing her performance.

She was panting softly as she hopped off the rock and onto the bridge and leaned back against the railing. The sweat and water nearly drenched her body as she caught her breath next to Azure.

"That was beautiful." Azure said, almost speechless at the spectacle her partner just showed off. "And you want to be a Huntress?"

"Thanks. That was a short one compared to my usual routine." She held up a small bag, "But it was the first time incorporating multicolored flames into the separate cartridges, so I'm still working on it."

"Aren't those the dust crystals the doc gave me?"

"Well, I figured you didn't need them anymore, so I may have used most of them. Which is another reason I wanted to put off this for another night." She sheathed her weapon and leaned on the rail. "So? Was it worth the walk?"

"Are you kidding? I would make this walk every night if I could see something as stunning as that!"

Zinnia stumbled as she stepped forward, swearing under her breath. "Do you mind if I lean on your shoulder?" She hopped on one leg over to her, "I must've cut my leg during one of the whip movements."

Azure looked at her bleeding leg and sighed, "How did that happen?" she moved her back to the railing and held a finger up for her to stay put.

Zinnia watched her pull out a bandage from her pouch and begin wrapping it around her leg. "So, you know when I said I am pretty good at Aura control?"

"Yes?" She pulled tight on the bandage and finished wrapping it. "There. Now lean on me so we can get you off it while we walk back."

"Thanks." She wrapped her arm around her and hopped alongside her. "Well, I've been trying to master this thing my grandfather taught me a long time ago, where you move your Aura around to pad the attack more than just a basic body shield."

"So you pull from other areas to make the strain on your Aura more manageable?" Azure looked at her scroll to make sure she was going the right direction.

"Kind of. It makes other parts of my body vulnerable but if I can master it, my Aura will act stronger and last a little longer." She motioned over her stomach and arms, "How do you think I got so many burns and scars?"

"You do realize how reckless that technique is right?" Azure turned and realized how awkward the height difference was for Zinnia to lean so far down. "And that's coming from me."

"I'm not good enough to use it in serious fights yet. I only use it when I need to block a big attack or when I'm dancing." She saw Azure's doubt on her face and shook her head. "My semblance helps out a lot with this endeavor too. It gives me the time to focus on my Aura while it helps with the reflexes."

"Huh, interesting, but still plenty reckless. That's a pretty nasty gash you gave yourself. It was nearly cauterized and yet you still managed to bleed all over the place."

"I haven't had an accident this bad in a while, so don't think this happens all the time. Only when…" She trailed off, mumbling the next words so Azure couldn't hear.

"Only when what?" She shook her a little to try and get her to talk.

"Only when I'm nervous, I guess." She said it quickly, but this time loud enough to hear.

"Nervous? Of me?"

"It's a little embarrassing, but yes. I was actually more nervous of that solo performance than any of my performances on Menagerie, except maybe my first audience. I really wanted this one to work perfectly."

"First of all, it was spectacular. Second, if you put too much pressure on yourself, you'll make mistakes. Isn't that what you've been trying to teach me?"

"So you are learning! I'm so proud!" She shifted her weight on Azure and kept hopping alongside her, "I get into my own head when I'm trying to impress a singular person rather than a crowd. I couldn't just walk off stage and avoid the audience this time, ya know?"

"I'm sure some of your fans would love to see you in person. I can't imagine you avoiding people since you're the one who keeps dragging me into people to talk to others."

"Look, I may enjoy the spotlight, but when I make a mistake like this I don't like the audience seeing my injuries. It ruins the illusion of a perfect performance." She grunted as they started uphill.

Azure pondered something as they made their way back. She finally settled one something after a few minutes of silence. "Do you have anyone waiting for you back in Menagerie?" She felt Zinnia go off balance for a moment. "I figure someone as popular as you claim to be must have someone waiting for you back home."

"Depends on what you mean. Do you mean like family or like a significant other?"

"Well, considering I know you still have family in Menagerie."

"You asking for a friend?" Zinnia elbowed her. She wriggled her eyebrows at her when she glared at her, instantly breaking her annoyed façade.

"No, I'm just curious." She got out between chuckles.

"Well, I was a pretty popular girl back in my hometown, and I may have broken a few hearts while I was there. But to tell you the truth I couldn't find anyone of interest back there."

"I'm surprised you don't have someone hanging off you from here already." She put a blue ring around Zinnia to help with the weight.

Zinnia laughed, "Well, I'm currently hanging off of someone else right now." When Azure gave her an unamused look, she continued, "I may be a bit of a flirt, I'll admit, but I'm not about to get into a relationship without getting to know my prey a bit more."

"Got anyone in mind at least?" Zinnia chuckled again but kept quiet. They approached the apartment building and Azure held the door open for Zinnia. "Gonna tell me?"

"Slow down there. There's a thing you recently introduced right? I'm calling our leader's QPQ act to action!" Zinnia's sudden movements almost tripped both of them, "I want to know more about you first."

She frowned, "What do you want to know then?"

With a mischievous grin she added, "What are you looking for? Anyone in particular, or do you have a type?"

Her mood immediately dampened, "I… don't know." Azure slowed down as they approached the staircase, "I've never put thought into it. Rather, I never had the luxury to think about it." She helped her up the last step and moved down the hallway in front of their room.

"That's a shame." Zinnia said, "Because I think you're perfect dating material. When you're not a bloody mess that is." She winked and put the key in the door. "As your adviser, I'll have to help you with that." She moved her finger over Azure's question as she opened the door.

Roxanne and Eris were sleeping as they walked in. Azure walked into the room and watched Zinnia limp onto her bed. "Wait, you never told me yours!" She whispered inside but saw Zinnia already under her covers. She walked over to Zinnia's bed and leaned in closer to her, "This conversation isn't over."

When she turned around, she felt her tail slap her legs and go back under her sheets. Azure failed to suppress a smirk and dropped into bed, not changing out of exhaustion, and fell asleep.

Early in the morning, Azure woke up with a splitting headache and a knot in her gut. After taking a few deep breaths she realized that she didn't have another nightmare, at least that she could remember. She heard sizzling and smelled what could only remind her of breakfast.

Groaning as she sat up, she looked over to the kitchen to find Eris and Roxanne cooking a fairly large meal. She steadied herself before attempting to stand, rubbing her temples to ease her head. When her vision returned she was looking at Zinnia sleeping in another ridiculous pose. She stood up and remembered she was still in her clothes.

Her grumblings brought Eris's attention from the kitchen. "You're up just in time. Breakfast is almost ready and our uniforms arrived this morning, just in time for today's classes."

"Uniforms?" Azure rubbed her eye and looked at the bathroom door. Hooked on the back were three black jackets and three grey and black checkered skirts. "I never heard we had to wear uniforms." She took hers off the door and looked over the clothes in despair.

"I think they're better than the Atlas uniforms, if it's any consolation." Eris turned back to her work.

"I hate skirts." Azure lamented, "I wonder if I still have some bike shorts I can wear underneath." She rummaged through her drawers muttering to herself.

"I actually like these uniforms." Roxy said from the kitchen. She was already wearing hers, "I'm not much for skirts either, but I'll wear them as long as I get to wear leggings or something."

Sure enough, Azure spotted Roxanne's black leggings, preserving her conservative dress code. Zinnia stirred in her bed and yawned into her pillow.

Azure walked over and grabbed the pot of coffee, pouring one for herself and another for Zinnia.

"What's this heavenly scent?" She turned over but stayed laying on the bed.

Her coffee mug was waved in front of her face and she lazily reached for it. "It's still hot, and don't drink it while you're laying down." Azure set it down next to her and tossed her uniform on top of her. "And here's your change of clothes."

She didn't make a move to block it and just let the jacket fall on her face. "Oh, yeah. We have uniforms." She brushed the jacket to the side and yawned again before sitting up and grabbing her mug.

"I completely forgot about classes today. Aren't we late?" Azure said while looking at the clock.

"Don't worry," Eris placed some plates of food on the table and clapped her hands, "It starts late today, and it's just giving you your schedule and introducing you to the professors that'll be teaching you."

"And why aren't you getting ready?" Azure asked after she finished putting on her uniform.

"I'm already done with the freshman classes since I'm a transfer. I tested out of most of the next year's classes as well and I got the rundown from professors already. I'll be a teacher's assistant when they need me unless it's one of the classes I need to take still." Eris said with an aura of pride around her.

"Lucky you." Zinnia groaned.

"Drink your coffee." Azure slapped her on the back, nearly spilling her drink, "And come eat with us."

"You bet. I can't wait to see what Roxy can do!" Zinnia said after gulping down half of her mug. She stood up and winced before she fell back on the bed, which got her a glare from Azure. "Forgot about my leg."

Eris looked at her in exasperation. "What'd you two do last night? All Roxanne told me was you just left after I passed out and didn't come back until late."

"Kept a promise to Azure from when we met, I got a little carried away and slashed my leg." Zinnia rubbed her bandaged wound.

"Let me look at it." Azure crouched next to her leg and redressed the bandages. "The wound is mostly closed, but it still needs time to heal completely. Just don't run anywhere and you should be fine."

"Thanks doc!" Azure turned away before she could make another jab at her, to which she frowned and limped to the table.

Zinnia joined the others at the table and sipped at her coffee as they ate together. After they finished, Azure and Zinnia cleaned the dishes and they gathered their things for their introductory session at the Academy.

Zinnia stretched out with a satisfied hum, now dressed in her new uniform. "That was a great way to start the morning. Thanks for the grub you two!" She stood by the door and sipped on her thermos of coffee while she waited for the others to finish.

Azure grabbed her bag and tugged on her skirt, "Ugh, I wonder if I can ask for the boy's uniform. You ready to go?" She patted Roxy's back.

Caught off-guard, Roxanne spun around with a snarl and extended her claws in a defensive stance, her face both terrified and ferocious. Azure recoiled and Eris backed off slowly. After a moment of silence Roxanne's face softened and she stared wide eyed at Azure. "I'm so sorry! It was a reaction! I-"

Zinnia moved next to Azure with wary eyes. Azure gently pushed her back and looked at Roxanne, "It's okay, everyone just got spooked. I'll remember not to scare you like that."

Roxy looked at the ground and walked to the door, "Let's just go." Her voice was back to her shy self that they met on the drop ship.

Eris waved on Azure and Zinnia, "We can talk later, just don't be late."

They walked in awkward silence, Roxanne took the lead and the other two stayed behind her. Zinnia tapped Azure's shoulder, "Think she's doing ok?" She spoke in a whisper.

"We could always ask." Azure sped up and walked beside Roxanne, ignoring Zinnia's attempts to stop her.

Roxanne was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Azure wave her hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked up meekly.

"You alright there?" Azure asked, "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I'm alright, I think. I just need time to adjust." Roxanne said meekly, stepping around Azure without making eye contact.

"Adjust?" Azure kept up by her side.

"It's been a long time since I've been around other people, I think I'm still a bit feral."

"Right. The whole, living in a forest thing." Zinnia said from behind.

"Are you worried about hurting us?" Azure disregarded Zinnia's comment.

"I'm worried about hurting everyone." Roxanne's voice was harsh.

"I know you're strong, but you're not that strong, Roxy." Zinnia said with some disdain, "You're either underestimating us or overestimating yourself."

Roxy paused and muttered something under her breath before facing Zinnia, "Or maybe you're underestimating me."

Azure held up her hands, "Now, now. Let's not fight over this."

"No, let's talk. Now." Zinnia crossed her arms and slapped her tail on the ground. "I beat you one-v-one last time we fought, and I know I'm not the strongest one at the school, so what makes you think you'll hurt anyone here if you can't even beat me?"

Roxanne avoided her eyes and stayed silent. Azure stepped in from the side but was silenced by Zinnia's hand. Roxy looked up and spoke slowly and clearly. "You might have me in a duel, but that doesn't mean you can stop me from hurting others."

"Tell me, what makes you think I'll just stand by and let you hurt someone, let alone any of the Hunters or students here?"

"What if you're not close enough? Anyone is prone to letting their guard down, and who would expect a student to suddenly sink their claws into someone for patting their back!? Azure was two feet away from you and no one moved an inch, if I hadn't hesitated Azure could be back in the hospital because of me, or worse!"

Before Zinnia could respond, Roxanne shook her head, "Will you supervise me at all times? Keep a shock collar on me? Throw me in the cage until I've calmed down?!" Her voice twisted as she yelled and clutched her head in what appeared to be pain.

Zinnia was speechless as she watched her meltdown in front of her. In her stead, Azure pushed a wing in between the two of them, "This is something the school can help you with. More importantly, this is what we will help you with." She tried her best to defuse her with a soft voice but only managed to draw her attention.

"You think I don't know that? That's what I'm afraid of!" Roxanne cried out releasing her head and pointing at Azure, "You guys all think you can just treat me, like it's just some nervous tick! But if you mess with me, you'll inevitably get bit. Why do you think I stayed in the forest for so long?"

"I know you clearly don't want to stay like that forever, and you definitely don't want to return to the forest. Why else would you take this leap into a school?" Roxanne sniffed and looked her over shaking her head more, "I know we don't know anything about you, but we are willing to learn and share! You just need to give us a chance. We'll make mistakes. We'll push a wrong button from time to time. But we can work through this if you are willing to give it time!"

"That doesn't change what I can… will do, if I stay here." Roxanne said finally letting out a long breath.

"You were fine when we were shopping." Zinnia moved Azure's wing out of the way, "And you didn't slice Azure in half, which I'm sure she's grateful for. So as far as your concerns go, you have more self-control than you think. You're not a monster, Roxanne."

Immediately after she finished her sentence, Roxanne froze with a wide eye at Zinnia, "What'd you say?"

"I said you're not a monster!" She spoke louder to emphasize the point.

Roxanne lowered her head and started laughing silently to herself, with an occasional tear coming from her good eye. She staggered a couple of times in her hysterics.

"Uh, Roxanne?" Azure watched Zinnia back away from her, keeping a concerned watch over Roxanne.

She finished her laughing and plopped down on the bench behind her. She sat in silence, every once in a while making a sniff or hiccup. Azure and Zinnia looked at each other, then back to her.

"Thank you." She spoke with a hoarse voice. "I know it's coming from a good place, but never say that to me again." She got up and started walking away, back towards the apartments.

"Where do you think you're going?" Azure caught up to her.

"Back to the apartment, just tell them I'm sick."

"Nuh-uh," Zinnia appeared in front of her, "You're going to class missy."

"After everything I just said?!" Roxanne's voice was still rough.

Azure put her hands on Roxanne's shoulders, "That's exactly why you're going!" Roxanne was shocked out of whatever trance she was in and looked at Azure, "You can't keep making that excuse. That's called a self-fulfilling prophecy and I'm not about to ignore this problem because you keep putting yourself down."

Roxanne started to protest but Zinnia grabbed her head from behind and stopped her, "See? We both just practically assaulted you and you didn't go berserk on us."

Roxanne looked at Azure's hands and felt Zinnia's grasp and turned, "Maybe not this time, but…"

"Just relax, loosen up." Zinnia said again, now wrapping her arm around her, "If you start feeling overwhelmed, just tell us and we'll cover for you." She started walking back towards the school.

Azure got on the other side and wrapped her arm around her as well, "Just give it a chance. Just go to where your thoughts take you when you're cooking. If you're that relaxed, I'm sure you'll get over this easily."

"Treat it like cooking huh?" Roxanne thought about it for a bit, and ended up with a grin on her face. "I can give it a try."

"Yeah, just imagine the people you like as your favorite foods, and if you meet anyone you don't, just throw them in the oven!" Zinnia joked.

Roxanne chuckled at the image, "I'll keep that in mind, thanks."

"See? Just give us some time. We'll break you out of that shell as long as you give us some effort from the inside, understand?"

Roxanne nodded with hesitation.

"Hey, Roxy." Zinnia stopped the group again, "Sorry for prying so much. I thought I could get you to spill some beans if I got you hot enough. I didn't mean to come off like such an ass."

"I think I needed that little release." Roxanne coughed, "Although I don't think my throat is used to screaming like that."

"I didn't think you had it in ya. You're always so quiet. It really threw me for a loop."

"And I'm sorry for acting so strange. I'm sure I gave you both, and Eris, a bit of a spook, huh?"

Azure grinned, "Don't worry about it. As long as we're all good, right?" She looked at both of them.

"Right!" Zinnia put her hands behind her head and grinned.

"Right." Roxanne agreed with her usual reserved smile.

"Good, now that we have that out of our system, can we go into class?" she motioned to the double doors they stopped in front of.

Roxanne froze for a moment but managed to shake herself free. "So soon!?" she pulled out her scroll and turned on the camera, "Do I look ok? Is my eye red?"

Zinnia pushed her scroll away, "See, now you're worried about normal school troubles. You'll fit in fine!" she grabbed both of them and pushed open the doors with her foot.


	9. Chapter 9: Homeroom

p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Chapter 9: Homeroom:/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe doors closed behind them with a heavy clunk. Inside were a few dozen students sat in their respective teams, each having their own internal conversation. The large auditorium only added to the noise of the rabble. The newcomers only turned a few heads who happened to hear the doors close behind them. There was a passing comment or two before they returned to their groups. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"See?" Zinnia said to Roxanne, "Most of the students won't even notice you since their so wrapped up in their own squads." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure nodded along, scanning the crowd for seats or any familiar faces. "There's a spot for a team near the edge of the room," She scanned again, "That's about all there is. It's odd I don't see Slate or Lilith anywhere."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Maybe they have a different class time?" Roxanne suggested as they skirted the room towards their seat./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia hummed as she slid in to the inner most seat. "Let's not worry about it, the professors should be here soon. They'll explain everything." She set her bag down and pulled out her scroll. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanJust as Azure and Roxanne sat down the doors in the front opened up and three adults walked into center stage./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Look at the one in the center!" Zinnia said quietly as they waited for the crowd to die down. "She looks pissed at something!" Zinnia laughed as she watched her tap her foot impatiently while the man on her side was attempting to set up the mics on each of them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I wonder if something happened." Azure watched them, trying to gleam any information off them./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are these our professors?" Roxanne whispered, "They only have three to spare?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Times are tough, especially for Hunters," Zinnia looked them over once again, "The pissed one looks like she's about to throw something through a window."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was a loud feedback from the mics coming online, followed by several scratching noises. Finally voices started to hum from the surrounding speakers. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, they're working fine." The man said talking to the angry one./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ah there we go!" She said while the third woman stood silent with a finger rubbing her temple. She stepped forward and yelled something inaudible as she blew out the speakers with her voice./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter the voice and the professors recovered from the recoil, the man grabbed her shoulder and took her place. "What my wife meant to say is. Good morning and welcome to your orientation!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe wore a white sweater covered by a green tweed jacket and a green ivy cap together with his brown slacks. He didn't seem imposing and even had an air of warmth around him. His eyes were scanning each individual as he spoke, almost as if he was trying to figure out everyone just by first impressions./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My name is Professor Russel Claret, but please call me Rusty. I am your engineering professor, I'll be helping you with weapons and tech." There were some whispers in the back and someone rose their hand. "Yes, Doyle."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe man was shocked at hearing his name before he introduced himself but quickly recovered. "We already made our weapons, what else do we need to know?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That question just shows how naïve and unexperienced you are." He scanned the room for a moment, "Anyone have an answer?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We need to be able to identify other Hunter's weapons, capabilities, along with their strengths and weaknesses. For teamwork or when fighting against." Azure called out, "Optimizing your weapon, proper maintenance, and improvements are always changing with how you and others fight."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, I'll stop you there before you ruin one of my lessons! Very astute Ms. Neomea, you may be seated." He smiled at her and motioned for the boy to sit, "Just as she said, the world is always changing and with the world follows technology. I aim to help the transition easier to follow. This includes technology you'll be interfacing with as Hunters and Huntresses, whether you want to or not."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure looked to Zinnia and Roxanne and stroked her feathers, "I like engineering, what can I say?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now! I'd like to hand you off to..." He turned to the remaining two and decided to give it to the quiet one first, "Professor Xanthus!" After he stepped back and muted his mic, he began talking to his wife attempting to calm her down some more./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hello, I'm Professor Melina Xanthus, I will be teaching you all about Semblances, Aura, and History." She looked as though she was about to step back, but Rusty pushed her back out./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe readjusted her clothes, a simple yellow dress shirt and white pants, and continued. "For those of you who are still trying to find your Semblance, I will be helping you meditate on your soul and what it could possibly be. Those of you who are struggling with your Aura I will help you strengthen and possibly even increase it. And of course, I will be giving you lectures on History and maybe even some myths."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sounds like a good teacher for you Roxy!" Zinnia spoke over Azure trying not to raise her voice too much. She elbowed Azure, "Hey, see those?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What?" Azure squinted and gave the professor a closer examination, "Her whiskers?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAs she said that Professor Xanthus scratched her face and pulled on one of her whiskers. "Huh, I guess this school has more Faunus than I thought."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe turned to the couple and Rusty gave her a thumbs up. "And now I'll give the floor to Mrs. Claret."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't call me Mrs." She spoke as she stepped forward, "Instead," She spoke loud enough that the mic almost wasn't needed, "Call me Tawny! Professor Tawny Claret if you must know, and I am your combat instructor."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe wore well-worn leather armor that was chipped and ragged revealing the bodysuit under armor that looked flawless. She still seemed pissed at something and spoke with an intimidating tone that rivaled an Ursa./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now, I watched your little exam you all took and boy was I disappointed. There were only a few noteworthy fights in that mess and if you think you're so tough, I can beat you down whenever you need a reality check!" She stretched her arms out while she challenged the room, "I couldn't even get a warm-up off of you folk! It'll be my job to get you all into fighting form. Bad accuracy, poor strategies, misuse of Semblances, bad Aura management, combat awareness. All of these need to be worked on before you'll be able to make anything out of yourselves."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe room was quiet and some uneasy glances were made at each other during the silence. "If you're intimidated by me, you'll freeze up if you ever fight something on the level of a Nuckelavee!" She pointed to the ones with uncertain eyes, "I'm going to work you through until you're as confident-" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe doors up top opened and Professor Solanum was limping into the room from the auditorium doors. "You! So glad you could grace us with your presence you quack Doctor." She was walking to the front of the stairs and seemingly forgot about her presentation to confront him, "Where were you!? No message, you weren't in your office! What gives!?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm new here, remember?" He descended the stairs one at a time, "And I'm a bit slow due to my bad leg." When he reached the bottom his hunched body was just shorter than Tawny's full height, "Now are you going to let me through or are you going to fight me to satiate your bloodlust?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia could make out her obvious discomfort as he looked into Tawny's eyes, she even seemed to be sweating as she stepped aside to let him through. "What do you think that's about?" She whispered, more towards Roxanne than Azure, "Is he really that dangerous to silence that beast of a woman?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know. Maybe they know something we don't." She shrugged, "Maybe she just doesn't know how to deal with him."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I kind of get that," Azure said, "He's just unsettling. Not good or bad, just unsettling."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanTawny cleared her throat in the mic, "Anyway, I suppose I should give up my spotlight. Just remember, I won't go easy on you all." Her voice was calmer, but still had its own spunk to it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanSolanum was handed a mic from Rusty and he took a shaky step forward to address the crowd. "I am Professor Castor Solanum, also known as Doctor Solanum. Call me whatever you like, even those horrible nicknames you all seem to have for me. You'll find me in the infirmary after classes or when you require medical assistance." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe crowd was even more silent than with Tawny. His words were heavy but he looked as though he may fall asleep on his feet at any moment. "I will be your Medic professor, and since Lionheart wanted me to teach something else, I will also be teaching Grimmology every other class." He studied the room and clapped loudly, making several students jump, "Any questions?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe room was still quiet, not even the scratching of a pen could be heard. "Good, I'll hand you back to Professor Irving," He looked back to see Rusty shaking his head, "Right, you want to be called Rusty." He yawned and stood hunched next to Xanthus, who was obviously uncomfortable by his presence./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Right, for those of you unaware, I'm listed as Professor Irving, my maiden name, to avoid confusion with Professor Claret." He coughed again and continued, "This group of students sitting around you now is classified as Class B. We split up this year's entering students into two groups with two separate groups of Professors and students."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia nodded, "There's your answer about Lilith and Slate, Azure." Azure just nodded in response and kept listening to Rusty./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Your scrolls will have the updated class schedule and calendar. After the first few months of classes there will be a field trip opportunity to watch a professional at work. There will also be practical exams and written exams sprinkled throughout the year, as well as a team examination, so no slacking off." He pulled out some notecards and flipped through them, "I think that's it, for school announcements."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe looked back to the crowd and scratched under his hat, "Now for some more serious news. I am sorry to say that a mandatory curfew is in effect until told otherwise."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere were some murmurs from the crowd, "Save your talk until I'm done please." He cleared his throat and read off his scroll. "Mandatory, curfew of ten at night for all students and civilians until further notice or unless chaperoned by a certified Hunter. Now I'm sure you all have questions for me, so let's hear it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why the curfew?" Zinnia asked, leaning back in her chair, arms behind her head./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"In the last three days, we've had several abductions which have led to a city wide manhunt for whoever is behind this. We don't have any details on the description of the culprit and none of the missing persons have been found. The only connection we can find, is that all of those abducted are Faunus."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was a loud outburst from the crowd, several people yelling and other asking about safety. Azure looked over at her two Faunus teammates and noticed Roxanne looking pale. "Hey you ok?" Zinnia looked over too and saw her clutching her stomach./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll be fine, don't worry." She put on a pained smile and slowly began to relax back in her chair./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure looked at her with concern before turning back to Rusty. "If you say so."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Now I want you all to know." He rose the mic's volume to catch the audience's attention. "We are just asking you to be careful and follow the protocol of the city. The targets always seem to be alone and above the age of fifteen, and it's always at night around ten or later. We don't know anything about this assailant, but if you see him or her, do not engage. Call the proper authorities and give them any information you have. I repeat do not engage him in battle."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I get the feeling he's holding information from us." Zinnia sighed./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If he is, it's for our own good," Roxanne said, finally able to talk freely again./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean? Do you know anything about this?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne shook her head, "I don't know yet, but I've seen a similar case when I was in Vale, and it's not pretty."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You think it's the same guy?" Azure looked her over and noticed she was regaining color./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, he's definitely dead." She said with a grimace, "Just some bad memories. It's making me paranoid."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, you know about him. Maybe someone else does too and is trying to copy him?" Azure offered./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I doubt it. If he is a copycat he'll mess up at some point." Roxanne cracked her neck and stretched her arms out in an attempt to relax, "And I'll tell Solanum so he can pass it down." She opened her scroll and made a quick message to him. "Now, all we can do is wait."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You seem to know a lot about this case. Were you involved, more than just being aware?" Azure asked with some hesitation./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, and I'd rather not get involved a second time." Her hand was still over her stomach./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Were you captured?" Zinnia asked, now more intrigued with this story than the Professors trying to calm down the rest of the students./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, but I had an unpleasant experience with him." She gave a frustrated huff, letting her know she was done answering questions./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Keeping it vague still?" Zinnia sighed, "Oh well, it's a start."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The room finally calmed to a whisper and Rusty sighed with relief, "I hope you all the best in your upcoming classes and your future in general. If anyone has any more questions come see me afterward." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanStudents began leaving and Roxanne got up in a hurry, looking eagerly at Azure and Zinnia to leave./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whoa, got somewhere to be Roxy?" Zinnia leaned back in her chair, "I usually like to wait until the room is clear before I get moving. Less people step on my tail that way."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm still not used to being in a room with so many people, it just puts me on edge." She was looking around, making sure no one was behind her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just breathe and sit down, no one will bother us," Azure stretched a little, "I feel like trying to force yourself through a crowd isn't the best option for any of us. I hate when people bump my wings."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The pains of large Faunus traits again." Zinnia grinned at Azure, "I told you I needed someone to share my pain!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne looked at the crowded door and shuddered, "I guess you're right."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure clapped her hands suddenly and pulled out a notebook. Without saying a word she started scribbling things down on her pad, even drawing out a few sketches./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Whatcha doing?" Zinnia looked over her shoulder, "Are those guns?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I finally got some inspiration for a design. I want to try and talk Eris into letting me modify her gun, or build her a new one, now let me concentrate or I'll lose my train of thought." She continued writing and mumbling things. Roxanne sat back down and took a calming breath as the group at the door was mostly dispersed./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ah." Roxanne said blandly as she looked down the aisle, "Hey Azure…"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe was lost in her papers as she flipped back and forth between two designs she made. In her concentration she didn't notice Zinnia tapping on her shoulder./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You could always do both." A voice came from her left./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I could, but that would cause some drastic balancing issues." She said back, without realizing the voice wasn't from Zinnia or Roxanne. She made some more marks and looked up, finally noticing the newcomer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You have a knack for this, where'd you learn your trade?" Professor Irving was standing next to her, Zinnia and Roxanne had moved out of the way for him to get a closer look./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh, Professor! I didn't notice you, sorry." Azure quickly closed her book and put it back in her bag. "I learned from my father. He taught me everything I know."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You don't have to hide your designs, I thought they were great for just jotting down notes." He looked back to the stage and waved to his wife who was tapping her foot staring at him. "While I would normally encourage students to make their own weapons, I think this would be a good choice for Eiralys."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How'd you know?" Azure stood up with her bag expecting him to leave instead of continuing./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Oh please, I studied all of you. Your weapons, Semblances, fighting styles, and I know you use that peculiar railgun sword combo, not a machinegun using Atlas tech."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Heh, caught me. I was going to make a base for her and she could fine tune it from there." She looked at Zinnia who was laughing, "What?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey Prof." Zinnia tapped his shoulder, "Hate to interrupt your talk, but your wife looks like she's about to tear someone in half."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe turned and saw her steaming by the exit, "You are absolutely right! I should fix that before she destroys another desk." He hopped over the seats and waved at the three of them before jogging back to his wife. Her yelling could be heard from behind the doors as they left./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He's whipped." Zinnia sung as she turned and started making for the door, "Let's blow this joint."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So how was it, Roxy?" Azure asked as they exited the building. "I know you were uncomfortable, but I assure you that is as bad as the classroom will get."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's manageable." She shook her head and staggered, "I think I can get used to it, as long as I can avoid the main crowd." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You sure you're ok? You look a little dizzy." Zinnia was walking backwards in front of them, "You still look a little pale. More than you usually do anyway."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm fine. Hopefully just a headache." She rubbed her temple as she walked, "It's been a rough day if I'm being honest. If I can stop this from becoming a migraine I'll call this a victory."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I guess you did just go through a lot, even before the class." Azure had her scroll out and was looking scrolling through the map. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And what's got you so distracted now, leader?" Zinnia asked, "Your teammate is in pain and you're looking at… weapon shops?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm fine, really!" Roxanne said, "I just need to sit down for a bit when we get back to the room." A spark of black Aura flickered off her head in response, "See, Aura's already working on it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm just teasing." Zinnia looked back at Azure who hadn't answered her. "Hello? You there?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Huh?" Azure closed her scroll and looked at Zinnia, "She says she's fine and I'm going to trust that she's telling the truth."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia shrugged, "With all due respect leader, I do not feel like she's fine."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure spoke at Roxanne who was focused on nursing her headache, "If you're lying to us, I don't want to hear any complaints when you start feeling worse, understand?" Roxanne nodded. She gave her a once-over and returned to Zinnia, "I may need to make a few stops before I get back, you two go on without me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Azure, let us come with you! You shouldn't be going alone! And she's gone." Zinnia sighed again, "What's gotten into her?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe paused when didn't hear anything behind her. When she turned, Roxy was gone and Zinnia was alone. "How'd she sneak away like that?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She felt her scroll buzz and found a message from Roxanne. "Solanum wants to talk to me about the kidnappings, hopefully won't be long. Don't wait for me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What is wrong with everyone?!" She screamed in frustration, causing a few people nearby to jump./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris was reading a book when Zinnia walked into the room fuming. "I can't believe them!" She started as she slammed the door./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I take it orientation didn't go well?" Eris asked, closing her book, "And do you have to yell?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yes! Azure and Roxanne just abandoned me in the middle of town, right after we were told we shouldn't be wandering alone!" As she paced around the room, her tail was violently swinging to her paces./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's still before curfew and they are both fully capable of doing things without you. I don't see the issue here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We were told that some lunatic was wandering Haven and kidnapping Faunus off the street, then Azure ditches us, and without a word Roxanne starts sparking like a faulty wire and leaves for her doctor she trusts oh-so-much more than us!" She turned towards Eris, "That's the issue!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Roxanne has some medical issues that are probably best treated by a doctor instead of us. Azure must've decided she didn't need someone babysitting her for a small errand, or just wanted to be alone for a bit. I know I would after spending time with you all for as long as she has."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Did you know about the kidnappings? Or that Roxanne was involved in something eerily similar to this?" Zinnia sat down on her bed, "She was in no condition to go back by herself. She was starting to look like her head was going to explode, her Aura was working overtime."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hold up, one thing at a time." Eris moved a bed closer to her, "Yes, I knew about the kidnappings, I've been following the news since before I got here. No, I did not know that Roxanne was a part of that kidnapping from Vale, which I was aware of. And why was her Aura acting up?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""She could hardly stand! She said she was on the border of a migraine, said her Aura was working on it." Zinnia took a few breaths to calm herself. "How could Azure just leave her like that?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris pulled out a book and started skimming through it, "She probably thought you'd take care of her, there's no way she could've predicted her to run away the second she decided to leave."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So it's my fault?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No! We don't even know if there is a fault yet." She paused her searching and stared at Zinnia, "Azure seems like a single-minded person, she probably tunnel-visioned and trusted you'd both be fine without her for a while. Honestly, I have a feeling Azure trusts you to a fault." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia failed at coming up with a comeback, so she let her continue, "Roxanne is still trying to let us in, and while I don't know what kind of life she had before us, it's obviously enough to keep her from telling anyone without proper caution or emotional preparation."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I know, but it's frustrating! I want to help, but no one will let me. I'm always cleaning up when I should be preventing the mess."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Look, you can't solve everyone's problems. You just need to be patient and you'll find your place soon enough."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Sounds nice, but that doesn't always work. I'd think you'd know, running from Atlas and your team." She paused and her head fell down, "Sorry, that was a low blow."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris took a deep breath, "I waited and it didn't work. My place wasn't with them, it never was, and I knew that from the beginning. So did my mom."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What happened?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris turned to her, "I guess I could share a little, if it'll calm you down." She clasped her hands together. "Did you know I was born in Vacuo?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No, I just assumed you were from Atlas."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, my parents lived there until they had me. I was born frail and most importantly, with an intolerance to heat. In Vacuo, you can stay as long as you can survive, so they left for Atlas since the desert was killing me, literally. They thought the cold would help me cope, and they were right. I started gaining weight and growing normally."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm assuming your good fortune didn't last."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She chuckled, "No. Soon after we moved, Atlas came to our door with a choice for my father, either join the military, enter the dust mines, or go on dangerous expeditions looking for more mines. He chose the military and died within the first year."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's… I'm sorry."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I never knew him, so it never affected me too much. But my mother was devastated and still had to raise my frail body by herself. So as the years went on, I steadily got better and even entered a primary school to try and get into Atlas academy so I could help her." She sighed, "My mom hated how Atlas was teaching their students. Militarized zombies filled with racist nonsense about Faunus, sending people who couldn't fight to the mines, and all the while the upper class just stood around and laughed."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Her hand shook as she attempted to skim through her book again, "She homeschooled me, taught me what to ignore and what to focus on. Then, as I entered Atlas Academy, I guess they thought my family had enough time to grieve and decided to draft my mother into the military as well. About two years later she gave me a suitcase and a piece of paper. She told me to escape and live the life she always wanted me to have."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And now you're here." Zinnia saw the connection./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And now I'm here. No country should be run like that! The first thing I'm doing when I graduate is getting my mom out of there!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I see why you hate Atlas."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's an understatement." The bitterness was palpable, "Now you can stop pestering me about my story."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You didn't have to. I was mostly teasing you before, something that I seem to be getting worse at lately."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris laughed, "I was teasing em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"you./em" She looked at Zinnia's surprise, "It's not like you to get so negative. Cheer up! Everything will be fine, you just have to have some faith in your team, and give it some time."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And here I thought you were only good at giving people a cold shoulder." Zinnia grinned at her, "Still, I feel bad. I don't have anything to share with you, really. The worst things I had to deal with were usually self-inflicted, like my accidents practicing," She motioned to her scars, "and how crowded Menagerie was." She laughed when she thought harder, "I don't even have any juicy Faunus discrimination stories to tell."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's good, though. Although I fear that won't last long living here, but we can't all be a complete wreck." She checked her scroll, "We've got the bullheaded Azure, the enigma of Roxanne, the jaded Eris, and the annoying-yet-enjoyable Zinnia. You're the only thing keeping this ship from capsizing until we get our act together."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Well, when you put it that way, I guess I need to stay positive huh?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Just be yourself, as cliché as that sounds. I think we need you more than you think. At the very least just to keep us sane."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thanks, for everything." Zinnia laid back on her bed, "Sorry you had to tell me your life story just to get me to calm down."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey! What did I say about staying positive?" Eris snapped, mocking her own usual tone./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's my shtick!" Zinnia said, feigning hurt, "Don't take away my purpose! I couldn't bear it if you took my place as joker."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris chuckled, "Well, don't get used to it, but you'll have to pick up the slack if you want to keep the title."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I wonder when Azure will be back." Zinnia wondered aloud./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What, am I boring you already?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No, no!" Zinnia was quick to respond, "I didn't mean it like that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I know. You really worry about her, don't you?" she said, moving back to her original spot./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yeah, I guess I do." The clock was moving too low for Zinnia's liking so she turned to Eris. "What're you looking for, by the way?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Something is bothering me, so I wanted to look it up. I can multitask, so don't think I'm ignoring you." She closed her book and grabbed a second one, "In the meantime, tell me how the class went."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Oh it was eventful for just a quick walk and a few announcements, let me tell you." She sat up and pulled her tail in front of her, cleaning it with a rag from her drawer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The door opening caught Zinnia's attention. A very despondent Azure walked in with a suitcase and a small plastic bag filled with various fittings. "Finally, what took you so long?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Apparently, Faunus are not well received in some of the shops around here." She closed the door and found Zinnia and Eris sitting together with a book open in between them and crumpled papers scattered around the room./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They refused you?" She put down her pencil and Eris looked up from the book to listen in. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They forcibly removed me, actually. I had to go to some place farther than I wanted before I found a shop that helped me out, and it sucks that I'm still grounded. Walking sucks." She sighed, "I bet you're mad at me for going off on my own, right?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Nah. Water under the bridge already." She grinned at Eris who rolled her eyes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""More like a flash flood." Eris said quietly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hey!" Zinnia elbowed her, "I just needed to vent," She turned back to Azure, "Sure I was a little pissed, but I figured it out."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Was it that bad?" When both Eris and Zinnia shrugged she dropped it, "I didn't think I'd see you two so chummy. What happened while I was gone?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We had a bonding moment, then I conned her into giving me some lessons." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I was not conned! Your History and Engineering were atrocious, and your Semblance theory and tactics still need work. I just wanted to stop you from failing."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Like I said, I conned her." Eris smacked her on the head with her book, "What is with you two and hitting me!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I don't know, you're like a walking kick me sign." She looked around the room and suddenly became worried. "Where's Roxy?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Roxy!" Eris and Zinnia said in unison./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris stood up and grabbed one of her books, "I knew I was forgetting something."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""She said Doc had some questions about the whole copycat idea and wanted to see her, she snuck away the same time you ditched me." She pointed her finger at her in mock anger./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure put her head in her hand and sat down, "I messed up, didn't I?" She looked back at Zinnia, "I let my optimism get the better of me. How bad did she look?"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""She was barely standing, honestly." Zinnia hopped over to her bed and sat next to her, "You didn't mess up, don't beat yourself up over this. If she's fine, then there's nothing to worry about. If she's not, she's brought this on herself, or she's with her zombie doctor getting treatment."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I guess you're right. I guess this is what my grandpa meant by 'lying hurts the team'." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I was meaning to ask about that." Eris said grabbing her book and tapping on a passage, "You're sure she said her Aura was healing her headache?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yeah, she even had a spark fly off like her Aura was working overtime. What about it?" Zinnia looked at the book title: em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Aura and its Uses/em./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Aura doesn't heal headaches, it only repairs physical injuries, like cuts. It's why even skilled Hunters get drunk, have headaches, and suffer from psychological disorders." She flipped through a couple pages, "And if her Aura was sparking… I don't know what that means. She wasn't healing as far as I know."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Could her Aura be going out of control?" Azure asked, "Maybe it's because of her low Aura, she just doesn't have the discipline we do since we have to control so much more."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That doesn't make sense. Even if she does have less, Aura doesn't just rampage on its own like that." She thought for a moment, "But maybe she's losing control for a different reason?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""All I know," Zinnia stepped in, "is that it's nearly nine at night and she hasn't come back. And that maybe we should just leave her be until she feels comfortable enough to tell us." She looked to Eris, "Isn't that what we've been trying to tell her? Give her some time and she'll find her place."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You may be right. But for her to lie like that is worrying for other reasons." Azure said, "As much as I don't want to pry. If this affects her ability to fight or function as a team member, then this is a problem we need to solve sooner than later."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Eris started cleaning up the books and scrap paper, "True, but you've seen her fight. She's good enough to fight us evenly at the very least, beat me pretty heavily at least."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, but that's one or two fights. If this happens regularly, it could happen at a critical moment and get herself hurt, or worse." Azure sighed and put her briefcase on the table./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia looked over her shoulder, "Well, what d'ya get?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eris, you've been using a standard Atlas machine gun, with the only modifications being a holster for your fan-blade correct?" Azure's demeanor changed businesslike in a matter of seconds./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I guess it is?" Eris grabbed her weapon, "It's been tweaked a few times, but yes. It's essentially still a standard machinegun."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ok, that's all I needed to know." She opened the case and inside was a standard Atlas rifle. "It's going to be a few days before it's done, but I wanted to try and modify your current build."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm fine with what I have!" She hugged her weapon, "This thing's been with me since before I went to my first school."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And it's one of the reasons you're lacking firepower." She took apart the gun in seconds, "I'm not asking for you to give up your weapon. I'm going to build a prototype, and I want you to test it out before you make modifications to your own gun."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What are you thinking?" She put her gun down and walked over to Azure./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Zinnia, under my bed, the brown bag and the plastic bag if you would."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia grabbed her bags with no hesitation, "Here you are." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA plethora of tools and metal bits pilled out onto the table. "I'm going to surprise you." She gave a large grin at Eris who just rose her hands and sat back on her bed./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just don't wake us up with your tinkering, and remember actual classes start tomorrow!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll leave the bright and loud stuff for when it's light. Don't worry about it, I used to build guns without waking up my father all the time." She already had put together a few pieces and the skeleton of a gun took form./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm going to call Roxanne, hopefully she will be coming back before curfew. I'd hate for her to have to sleep in Professor Solanum's office." Eris called her on her scroll but was immediately sent to voicemail. "Why is her scroll off?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That is strange." Zinnia looked at Azure and back to Eris, "I doubt Azure will be willing to search for her, or even hear us while she's working on that. Did you try calling Solanum's office?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Good call." Zinnia looked at her expectantly, "No pun intended, geez."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe phone rung for a couple tones until the phone crackled to life. "This is Professor Solanum's office or Haven Academy's Infirmary, please state your name and reason for calling." His voice was just as monotonous and dead as he usually was./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey, this is Eris from Team AZRE, is Roxanne with you? She said she'd be with you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was a pause, only Azure's tinkering could be heard in the background, "She left earlier today. Is there a problem?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEris froze and looked to Zinnia who was just as shocked. Zinnia held a shrug and waited for her to continue, "No, she probably just got sidetracked. I'll call again if she isn't back after curfew."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I won't be here after curfew either. I'm needed on the security team tonight and my scroll is being repaired. Call administration if she doesn't show up, or one of the other professors. I have a feeling she'll be back around curfew anyway, don't worry too much about it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you know where she is?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe phone went silent again for a beat, "No. I need to get briefed for security, good night."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe line went dead and Zinnia threw her hands in the air, "What kind of creepy response was that!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He's always been like this as far as I've been told. If he's not concerned about it, maybe we should trust him."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I trust him about as much as I can throw an Ursa." She noticed Eris raise an eyebrow, "What? He's a creep who sounds like he's on his death bed. I get a bad feeling around him too."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I had a bad feeling around you two, but I got past it. Maybe he just rubs you the wrong way."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe shivered, "Don't phrase it like that. It makes it so much worse."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanLooking at the clock, Zinnia yawned. Eris fought off the urge to follow, "Don't do that, we should wait for Roxanne to come back before we fall asleep."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You told me to trust the zombie, and he said not to worry. Like Azure said, if she is worse for wear, she brought it on herself. I'm not going to lose sleep worrying about it, especially if we have classes tomorrow."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'd feel bad knowing she'd come back with us sleeping like we weren't worried."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, I won't. I worried, it's passed, and she left without warning. Besides, those lessons you crammed into my head tired me out more than I thought."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That's because your brain is also a muscle, and boy is it out of shape." Eris finally succumbed to a yawn and gave in after witnessing Zinnia stick her tongue out at her, "Fine, I'll get some sleep too."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter they changed and Eris climbed into bed, Zinnia filled a glass of water and placed it on the table next to Azure. "We're going lights out, don't indulge your night habits too much, you need to sleep too." She pat her head lightly watching her work for a moment./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll be there in a bit. I just want to get the basic build down." She craned her neck backward over the headrest, "You're too kind to me, you know that? If I'm still up when Roxy comes in, I'll ask what happened." Her focus went back to her work, "Good night!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia nodded to herself, "I know. Good night you nocturnal beast."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure kept working until her vision started blurring. She let out a long yawn and looked at the work she had done. Deciding that there were only a few more tweaks before she was satisfied she started working again. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanIn the back of her mind she thought heard some rustling and the door opening behind her, but she fell asleep before she could react./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Are you kidding me? Azure!" A familiar voice came from behind her, disturbing her dreamless sleep. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOpening her eyes was a chore, but her focus returned in time and she found an angry Zinnia standing cross-armed next to her. "Hey, what time is it?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's half past seven, and you slept at the table!" She set a cup down next to her and pulled her upright. "How long were you up?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I never checked the clock." She sipped the cup and recoiled from the heat, "Hot!" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, that'll wake you up." She sighed, "Did you even know Roxanne came back last night?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How's she doing?" She struggled to gain full awareness, but her concern was helping her focus./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's in the bathroom doing something. She woke up before me somehow, turned on the shower and hasn't come out for at least a half an hour."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Probably trying to wake herself up. Great, now two of us are going to be tired on our first day." She looked into the kitchen and found Eris cooking, "I'm assuming she hasn't said anything."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Eris?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come on, I'm not awake enough for this."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, like I said, she woke up, and has been in the bathroom all morning." As if on cue, the shower shut off and the door slowly opened. Roxanne came out holding a bundle of her old clothes and wearing her uniform. "We were just talking about you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure forced herself up and faced Roxanne, while Eris finished her dish and turned off the stove to avoid burning anything before she turned. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Sorry for disappearing like that." Roxanne said meekly, "I got caught up in some Grimm troubles at the west gate."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The west…" Azure pictured the map of Haven in her head, "That's on the other side of town! Why were you over there?!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I have a quiet spot on top of the mountain that I go to when I need to relax, I hope I didn't cause any trouble."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Your scroll was off, you were alone, and you stayed alone past curfew, how could we not be worried!" Eris said with uncharacteristic volume./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My scroll died," She nodded to her still charging scroll on her nightstand, "I was with the guards at the gate and they escorted me back." Her voice was barely audible and rough, as if she'd been yelling all night./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well that explains it, why were you out past curfew though? What kind of Grimm problem would keep you though?" Zinnia's worry was seeping through her suspicion./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Like I said, I helped with a Grimm problem near the gate and I fought until things calmed down. Then I was escorted back." Roxanne coughed once and Eris brought her some water, "I'm still tired, but I've decided. I'm going to go to class. I don't want to waste this opportunity!" Despite her appearance, her motivation seemed renewed and she was glowing with determination./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That's an unexpected shift in attitude. I guess you just needed to vent some emotion on those Grimm, yeah?" Zinnia clapped, "Seeing you like this has gotten me pumped!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"While I'm still worried about you," Azure watched her and decided not to bring up her bloody, torn clothes that she quickly dumped out of view when she thought they weren't looking, "I say we use this momentum to bring us through the day, or I can just mooch off Zinnia and sleep through our classes." She pleaded with her eyes at Zinnia hoping she'd go along with it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Not happening. If you two fall asleep it's your own fault, even if you look at me with those adorable, sad eyes of yours!" Zinnia put her arm around Azure, "I'm not that easy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Besides, you wouldn't want to copy off her anyway. You'd be better just making educated guesses." Eris called out from the kitchen./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey! I take offense to that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"When your mock tests get better, then you can take offense." A loud ding sounded from the toaster and Eris motioned to the table, "Azure, clear off your toys so we can eat."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes dad." She put everything back in the case and folded the mat so it held all of the small pieces and fit it inside the brown bag. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Let's finally get this year at Haven started!" Zinnia cheered as the food was set out around them. "What could possibly go wrong?" Everyone glared at her in annoyance, "What? Too soon?" When everyone continued eating she scratched her head and picked at her food, "I didn't think it was that bad."/span/p 


	10. Chapter 10: Grimm Lessons

p class="MsoNormal" /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Chapter 10: Grimm Lessons/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;" /p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What!?" Everyone stopped eating and looked at Zinnia, "Why do we have separate classes today?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEris flipped through a small notebook, "It's been a couple weeks already. The professors are starting to work on your weaknesses. So they're setting up private sessions for each student for the next couple weeks." She took a sip from her mug and flipped to another page, "Roxanne got Xanthus, Azure has Solanum, and Zinnia's gonna get flattened by Claret."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you mean flattened?" Zinnia narrowed her eyes, "I can handle myself in a fight. You have no faith in me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure tilted her head, "Why am I with Solanum? I didn't think I was doing that bad with either of his subjects."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Don't ask me." Eris closed her book and shrugged, "I also thought you'd be with Claret. If anything you need work on tactics and staying with your team." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I- I've been better about that!" She sighed, "What do you think Solanum will try to teach me?" She looked specifically towards Roxanne./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know. I just know he's good at medicine and Grimm ecology. Maybe he'll test to see if combat medic suits you?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Combat medic? Azure?" Zinnia laughed out, "There's no way she could tear herself from the fight long enough to bandage someone."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Rude." Azure huffed, "But you're right."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm more worried about my Semblance meditation." Roxanne deflated some./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe felt an arm wrap around her, "You've been doing fine, haven't you? Just act like you're talking to Zombo and relax. Xanthus is the most harmless out of all of them." Zinnia attempted to swipe a piece of bacon, only to be slapped away from it./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne glared at Zinnia, "That's what I'm worried about. And would you stop calling him Zombo!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll stop when he stops shambling around the academy!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"He has a bad leg!" Roxanne snapped back./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And yet I've seen him walk normally several times. Why doesn't he get a better one from the academy? I'm sure they'd be happy to fix one of their professors."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA cough came from the other side of the table. "Ok, enough. I know you two have differing opinions on him, but let's not get into a brawl today, please." Azure sat back in her chair and yawned, "I'm too tired to try and break you two up again."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, if someone would stop staying up all night working on her little 'projects' maybe she'd have more sleep!" Zinnia slapped Azure's leg with her tail. "Coffee can only do so much. Trust the addict on this one." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe plates were removed from the table as Eris gathered the dishes, "Worry about your own classes right now, although Zinnia is right." She watched Azure sip from her third cup of coffee, "I would just believe they know what they're doing, and hope they sort you out like they're supposed to."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And what about you? You don't even have a class this year!" Zinnia pointed at her, "Or do you get a pass on this too?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nope. I get to go with Rusty and work on my gun." She noticed Azure's head jerk up in anticipation, "Yes, I'm going to be messing with that prototype you built me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes! Tell me how it fires, and how it's balanced!" Eris attempted to get a word in but Azure was lost in her own world. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanZinnia flicked Azure's head to bring her out of it. "Before you go too far into your fantasies, get ready for class."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ow. Thanks!" She rubbed her forehead with a smile and went to pack her bag./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She's a dork." Zinnia watched her walk away./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I don't know why you're…" Eris started./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHer mouth was suddenly covered by Zinnia's hand as she practically jumped across the table. "Eris, no."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I know, just teasing."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why did I ever think talking to you was a good idea?" Zinnia moped, clearing the rest of the table./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ok, I'm lost." Roxanne looked to Eris who shrugged./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My lips are sealed." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanOver in the kitchen she heard Zinnia mumbling, "Not airtight apparently."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter the chores were done, the team set out towards the school and split off to their respective professors./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe infirmary was cold and suffocating as Azure peeked into the room. "Hello? I was told to meet you here." She walked inside and heard Solanum coughing from the back, behind the curtains. "Are you ok, Doctor?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe curtains rustled and the dreary man walked around the corner, wearing a surgical mask. "Yes, yes. I've just got a bit of a cold. Just sit near the desk and I'll begin shortly." He disappeared behind another curtain and coughed several more times./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe chair made an eerie screech as she sat, throwing her mind into unwarranted paranoia. She sat patiently for him to return, reading some of the papers and book titles that littered his office. Most of the books were written by someone of the name "Nero Dearil". The books had a wide range of topics and were battered and a couple even singed or missing covers./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanA hand grabbed the chair's back and Azure jumped out of her investigation. "Oof, you scared me." She looked at his face and realized he wasn't wearing glasses. His eyes were completely black and seemed to absorb the light perfectly, preventing any shine to them, and upon further inspection, the mask looked clay-like and rough on the outside./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And that's the first thing I'm going to lecture you about." The man sat down in his office chair with a hefty fall and spun to face her. "You have a bad habit of tunnel visioning." His metal foot tapped on the ground as he inspected her, "It's not necessarily a bad trait. You just need to be able to snap out of it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAzure was taken aback by the sudden lecture, "Oh, starting already? Ok. Well, I just space out whenever I start thinking. I just don't know how to break the habit."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You don't want to break it. You need to control it." The chair chirped as he leaned forward. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm already lost."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Breaking implies abandoning it and controlling makes it a part of you." He picked up a tablet and played footage of her fights during the entrance exam and some sparing she did during class. "You have a natural affinity for solving problems, however, upon reviewing your tapes you always seem to go into a daze when you're figuring things out." The point was reinforced when the clip showed her receiving a bash to the back of her head during a mock battle. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So, I shouldn't be trying to stop it." She mused the advice in her head. A cane hit her on the head lightly. "Ow!" she looked up and Solanum was standing in front of her. "How?" she started./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Exactly my point." He limped back to his chair, "I'm sure you were figuring something out right there, but you let your guard down and didn't even notice me in your face. Every second unaware is a risk when you live in our world." The cane scraped the ground as he sat, "You need to be more aware, even when you think you're safe." He leaned back, "I'm going to try and help you with that."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why are you doing this? Why isn't Professor Claret teaching me fighting tech?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"He handed her a cube with small glass panels on it before responding, "She is not one for focusing or lectures. She'd just try to beat it out of you." He looked annoyed when he talked about her, "I believe that a more subtle approach would suit you." He pulled out a small button and placed it on his chair's arm. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure watched him set up his device in wonder while she held onto the cube. "What's this for?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Ignoring the question completely, Solanum coughed and leaned back in his chair. "What have you done to improve your leadership skills lately?" He studied her carefully when he spoke, never breaking eye contact, not even blinking. "I know you've been working on attacks that compliment your teammates strengths," he flipped through a page on his notepad but still maintained his stare, "You even… came up with names for them?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She noticed him hesitate when he mentioned this, "Is that a bad thing? I thought phrases would be nice so we could call out positions without giving ourselves away." He said nothing so she continued, "I don't know-" she was cut off by a shock to her hands, making her yelp and jump in surprise. She looked down at the cube and saw no difference in it, but knew it was the source of her pain. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She looked back to Solanum who had finally broken his eye contact and resumed looking over his notes. "There's nothing wrong with it, per say. But know that this should only be a temporary fix. Teamwork should come from the trust you put in your team and fights should be able to be won without giving away any information, even a code phrase."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure considered this but was more concerned about the shock cube in her hands. "I'll keep that in mind." She was much more alert now, keeping an eye on the box and the button that Solanum had. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Now we should talk about your tendency to leave your team in the middle of a fight in order to fight the biggest threat on the field." He tapped his scroll again and some more clips played of her team fighting exercises. "You always think that you have your fight and as long as you think they can handle theirs, you just bolt away and-"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure jumped again as the cube lit up and shocked her hands. "This thing!" she glared at it, knowing full well what it was trying to teach her. She composed herself and motioned for him to continue. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And you fight what you consider to be the highest priority for you and your team. Do you see where this logic fails?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure kept glancing at the button as she spoke, trying to anticipate the shock. "Taking on an enemy that I can't handle will get my team in trouble if I fail in my solo fighting?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That is only the tip of the iceberg." He brought his hand away from the button and went back to his notes. "What happens if your team gets ambushed? What happens when you misjudge your team's ability to fight without their leader? What happens when their leader gets injured? What happens when you get cut off from your team?" He crossed his arms and glared at her, "You are a capable fighter. Frankly you and your team has the combat strength of even our senior groups or better. Considering your average age it's not surprising. But naivety like yours is why you were not advanced in the program."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"When Azure heard this she started to defend her actions but was cut off by another shock. Solanum's hands were still crossed and the button was never pressed. "Argh! How are you doing that?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Again, Solanum ignored the question and continued. "You cannot keep fighting by yourself. If you value your team at all, you need to find out what to focus on more even when faced with what you think is the obvious answer."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"There was a silence and Azure nodded. She looked at the cube and tilted her head, "So, the button does nothing." She tapped her finger on the cube and it lit up again. She reacted and threw it in the air before it shock went through and caught it after it dimmed. When she started inspecting the cube she felt something smack her on the forehead. Snapping her out of the puzzle. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"An eraser fell to the floor next to her. "You figured out the first step, but you need to stay focused on both fronts."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How am I supposed to multitask like that?" She saw a glint from the cube and tossed it again./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""For starters, you just did it there. You don't need to put your whole mind into a single problem. Our brains can only switch back and forth rapidly, raw multitasking is impossible for us. So, what do you suppose you do about that?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I need to find time during the fight to think when I have breathing room?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Professor Solanum sighed, "No, you're missing a crucial aspect of this exercise." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure thought about it and to her surprise no shock came, and no eraser was flung at her head. She looked at the cube and back to the eraser and shook her head. "I've got no idea."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So you see how hard it is to split your focus, so what do you have that can help?" he leaned back and tossed the button he laid out on the armrest into a trash bin behind him./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I should ask for help." She said, feeling the answer was correct before he acknowledged. "I can't focus on everything myself, so I should ask my team for advice and work with them to give us more time to think."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And that is what being a leader is about." He tapped his cane on the ground, "You need to take advice from them, even if it is opposite of your instincts, you must have faith in them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I think, I got it now. Or I at least I have a better idea about what I'm missing." She moved the box in her hands and inspected it closer, "How are you setting off this box. Since the answer is asking for help?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The doctor held up his scroll and on the side was a button that he pressed that lit the cube up. "Always expect misdirection. When something seems too obvious, doubt it and find another solution." He held out his hand for the cube, "Another simple answer was to simply drop the cube, I never once told you to hold onto it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And so the most straightforward answer was to ignore the main target and look for an answer before engaging…" she watched the cube leave her hand and smiled at it, "I think I understand why you were chosen instead of Claret."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Again, he almost flinched at the sound of her name, but he ignored whatever was bothering him and returned to her, "If you ever feel yourself focusing too hard on one thing, recall the shock from the cube and reevaluate your position."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""This helps me a ton. A lot more than I was expecting." She coughed and stuttered for a moment, "I didn't mean that you were bad… or you weren't helpful." She sighed and shook herself out of it, "I just mean you really helped me, and I should've just believed in my professors, like Eris told me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""She's a smart girl, that one." Professor Solanum spun around and traced a hand over one of the many books on his desk. "I believe that was the main point of this little one-on-one."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""May I ask a question before you send me off?" Azure rose her hand even though he was turned around. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I never said you were done." he said over his shoulder as he transplanted one of the coverless books into a filing cabinet. "But yes, ask away."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Who is Nero Dearil? I saw those books, and I don't recognize the name." She motioned to the book he put away, "And they're in such bad condition."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You are also too smart for your own good sometimes." He sounded irritated, but he turned to face her with his usual deadpan look. "These were recovered from the events of the killings over in Vale. While the perpetrator was indeed evil, his work done on Grimm biology was groundbreaking and I was given the ability to study these books to further my own research."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I heard about that from Roxanne," He noticeably stiffened a bit. Azure talked more cautiously, "She said she was involved, but that's all she said. So this Nero is the one who killed all those people?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yes. He was once a great Grimmologist who was making breakthrough after breakthrough in their habits and biology. He turned mad one day and disappeared. Then they found his chew toy of a corpse in his makeshift lab surrounded by nothing but empty cages, and his notes."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's not great? Did they find out what he was doing?" She leaned in closer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""No. And you shouldn't be getting any more information than that. You've been poking your nose out too much as it is." He shut her down with a glare and a slap of his notepad on his lap./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""O-oh. So, you knew about that." She said with a meek grin./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Oh no, I couldn't possibly know about the two students making a damn lightshow after curfew; three times in two weeks even! Two students who are very much Faunus and very much prime targets for this new threat."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure shrank back, "I thought it wouldn't hurt to go out once or twice, especially together. It was my idea, by the way. Zinnia just followed me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Well, you and your partner are either idiots or are trying to pick a fight you em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"Will. Not. Win./em And contrary to what you might think, I don't think you're style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;""/em/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""We- I thought we might be able to find him, even if just a glimpse, if we wandered around for a bit. It usually ended up with Zinnia practicing while we talked and we came back empty." She confessed./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Are you aware that this criminal has overpowered more than five Hunters and Huntresses?" His grip on his cane was tightening, "Professionals. Whoever it is even managed to grab three of them on the same night." When Azure looked shocked he continued, "According to the report, a Hunter called for reinforcements when their Faunus partner stopped responding. The two Humans partners were taken as well when they engaged. When the reinforcements arrived everyone was gone. You still think you and your friend can take this guy on?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I get it. I will stop breaking curfew and I'll stop dragging my teammates into bad situations for my curiosity. I'm sorry for causing you or anyone else any trouble." Azure bowed in sincerity, hoping he would drop the matter./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I don't have the energy for this today." Azure felt as though he was dropping it for her sake more than he was letting on, "You are dismissed once I'm done picking up my things." He got up and stacked several books into a duffle bag from the table, "I'm going to be on sick leave for a few days, and I'd like to get to my house before dark." As if on cue, he had a brief coughing fit./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Azure grabbed her bag. "Before dark? Where do you live?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I live in the forest, outside of Haven's walls." He dragged his keys out from inside a drawer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Why are you living out there?! Shouldn't you have a place in the city?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Some of us still appreciate the old way of living." He kept an eye on her while he limped out of the room, "I will not live in the city. It's bad enough I'm teaching at this sham of an institution."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What's wrong with Haven?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You'll learn when you're older, although it's probably better you don't." He sighed, "I shouldn't muddle your dreams with my cynicism, just ignore my tirades and keep moving on."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Go back to your dorm, and don't do anything stupid." Solanum slapped her wrist with his cane./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"I hope you truly see your errors, for you and your team's sake." He turned away and started his long walk home, "Keep practicing what you learned, and show me your results when I come back. Dismissed." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She held the words he gave to her in her mind for a bit, processing how much danger she was putting on Zinnia and her team and how much of a threat this villain was. She brushed that aside and started her flight home, reflecting on the wisdom she had just been passed and ingraining the advice into her style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Fight you?" Empty rows of bleachers surrounded Zinnia as she stood in a large circle with Professor Claret facing her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Lifting her gigantic hammer onto her shoulder, Claret nodded, "At first, it seemed like you had a natural talent for fighting." She unwound the chain around her waist and spun it around her offhand. "Then I found out you rely so much on your Semblance that you wouldn't lift a finger unless it told you to!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So what?! My Semblance is good at defense while I handle the offense, isn't that what Semblances are for? To help us in battle?" Her sword fell limp into her whip./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You use it for much more than defense only. And what happens when you can't rely on your Semblance? What happens when you get overwhelmed? What happens when you need to fight and your Aura is depleted?!" She slammed the hammer into the ground, almost digging a clean hole through the reinforced steel./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia remembered he fight with Azure and hesitated, "I can still fight without it!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What a load of bull! I've seen you fight when you're overwhelmed and it is not pretty." She held out her hand and moved her finger towards her in a taunt, "If you can land one scratch one me without using your Semblance, then you can talk back."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I accept your challenge!" Zinnia let her Aura flow over her in a flash of Orange, "Show me what you got lady!" She lunged as Claret engaged her own crimson Aura and immediately was sent flying backwards by the debris from her just lifting the hammer out of the hole./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"As she landed and regained composure, Claret stood watching her. "I was just getting ready, why did you run away?" She cracked her neck and started walking forward, "Prepare yourself. I'm gonna start my practice swings next."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She swung the hammer around her head and leapt at speeds she thought impossible with such a large weapon. The distance between her and Zinnia was closed almost instantly and the hammer crunched the metal again. Zinnia was standing mere inches away from the newly formed crater and backed off in desperation./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And I thought Roxy was ridiculous." She watched her retrieve the hammer and start swinging it above her head again. As the hammer inevitably came down again, Zinnia made a quick dash to the side and made slashes from her whip's maximum range./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Each slash was blocked with ease by her chain covered hand and she advanced on her without so much as flinching. "This is what happens when you don't take training seriously." She brought the hammer to her side and with a single arm thrusted with the hammer./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The thrust fell short enough that Zinnia almost didn't react when it burst forward, grazing her leg mid-dodge. She watched the hammerhead glide past her and land several feet away. It was connected to the grip by a long, heavy chain exactly like what was wrapped around her other arm./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Taking advantage of the lull, Zinnia made a rush for close range, switching her weapon to her hoop and firing off multiple rounds in time with the slashes. Again, both the shots and the strikes were blocked one handed. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Claret yawned while she started to push forward. "Your strikes are weak, and your speed is much to be desired. I'm starting to get bored."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia noticed the hammer's chain tighten, and it started to pull back into its holster at breakneck speeds. As the hammer connected Zinnia retreated and switched back to ranged combat. She kept her onslaught of slashes going, staying silent until Claret stomped at the ground. She threw a loose chain around her whip and pulled it and Zinnia towards her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""This is taking too long!" She rose the hammer high as she pulled her closer, "Don't make me get serious now." She felt little resistance and pulled her within range of the hammer. With a shout, she slammed the hammer as hard as she could./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia reacted as fast as she could. As soon as the hammer rose she changed configuration to the normal sword, and instead of pulling the sword in, it pulled her towards Claret. She managed to shoot off a bolt of fire dust from her mouth when she got in range and the shockwave from the hammer pushed her past and free from the chains. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"After the dust settled Claret turned, unfazed towards Zinnia with a smile, "Well, well. You passed my beginner level test." She wiped some soot off her face and dropped the hammer to use as a step to stretch on. "Now you've earned the right to talk back, as I promised."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Panting with exhaustion, Zinnia gave her a thumbs up and started heading for the stands to rest./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I didn't say you were done!" Claret yelled, still stretching her arms and back, "I just said you could talk freely." She picked up the hammer and a soft red glow covered her body yet again. "Let's try again, I want a warmup not just a taste."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Lady, you are crazy, you know that?" Zinnia rose her weapon again but stayed far out of her reach./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I've been called many things. I used to be known as The Berserker of Llyn back in my heyday." She started hopping in place and her smile only widened, "I'm going to show you why."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I feel like you've already-" She was cut off by a hammer flying past her face as she once again dodged the bash with less than inches left. This time, she was punched square in the gut by her off hand, tossed up, and bat out of the air before she could react. She landed on her knees a few feet away and made a shaky jump to disengage./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Hmm, Aura is still intact. I guess you do have some merit." She walked with heavy, lumbering steps that Zinnia could feel from a distance. "Maybe I'll get a workout after all."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia pulled out another vial and looked between it and her opponent sauntering over to her. With an exhausted breath Zinnia opened the vial, "I think a workout would kill me at this rate." She threw back a mouthful and braced for the next attack, planting her feet firmly in the ground./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Going to try and take the hammer? If you insist!" Claret dashed forward with her usual speed, and as the hammer came down Zinnia sidestepped and braced herself against the blast with her sword. Claret's fist came through the smoke and met resistance, but instead of catching Zinnia it rebounded and broke her form. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia dashed through the opening and expelled a swathe of flames, covering both of them in fire. Once Claret waved the flames off, she saw a blade reaching through the embers and glancing off her stomach as she didn't fully dodge it. "Nice go-" she was interrupted by a sweep of her feet by her tail and a follow up downward slash with her whip accelerated by shots from the tip. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Smoke and dust settled as the fighters stood motionless for a few moments both trying to grasp the situation. Zinnia gasped as the chain had landed a hit on her stomach and looked up to find her sword blocked by the hammer's grip and Claret kneeling next to her hammer's head. The web of sword and chain collapsed and Zinnia fell to the ground clutching her stomach and gasping for air./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That was more like it!" Claret said untangling her weapon from the whip sword. "Hey, how did you reflect my fist like that?" She paused when Zinnia was still grasping her stomach in pain. "Hey, you ok?" Worry started clouding her face./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Peachy. Just took a very painful punch to the stomach, without Aura, don't mind me." She managed to gasp out./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Unguarded? Did your Aura break?" She knelt down next to her and pulled out her scroll, "No, you still have a bit left."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I had to push everything to your first strike to reflect your ridiculous strength. Then I didn't have enough time to push it back properly and got struck while trying to hit you." She flipped over to her back and got her breathing back in a rhythm./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You… pushed your Aura to my punch?" she looked at her with an amused face, "It worked, kind of. I think you deserve a break for now, we'll pick this up tomorrow."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You're right." Zinnia spoke when Claret turned around. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm sure I am. But just to clarify, about what?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I can't fight properly without my Semblance." She sat up and winced, "I had to use my trump cards immediately and they still were only enough to land a single hit each."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Don't get discouraged. You are fighting a pro Huntress and you managed to land four strikes on me during two rounds of combat. Even if they were your trump cards, you understood the difference in power and resorted to risky tactics to gain some advantage." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Four hits?" Zinnia thought back to the fight and only counted three./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""The fire bolt, the tail sweep, one of your sword swipes glanced off me, and that final slash." She stuck her tongue out, "I may have cheated a bit to block that attack on accident, so I'll count that as a solid hit."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia shook her head, "How do you cheat in a fight?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"She picked up her grip and played with the loose chain, "I used my Semblance on reflex. Technically I never said I wouldn't use mine, but I never intended to use it. Shows how serious I took that last strike."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What's this cheating Semblance of yours?" Zinnia rubbed her stomach some more and stumbled over to the nearest bench./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The chains and hammer glowed in her aura and the hammer began to levitate along with her chains, "I call it 'Extension of Oneself', it lets me move objects like they're a part of my body." The chain wiggled around on the ground and defied gravity in several sections while only one section was on her hand, "And this was going to be your next phase of training."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Wonderful, so not only can you swing that hunk of metal around, but you can freely control it however you want?" Zinnia laughed with incredulity, "Wait, was?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You're not ready to move on yet. While you did match my criteria, I want you to be able to attack me without resorting to such drastic measures first. If you can do that, I'll test you with my Semblance, then I have something else in mind for you." The glow around the hammer evaporated and the hammer fell behind her, allowing her to sit across from Zinnia./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You know, that sounds good." Zinnia agreed, "I don't want to take another hit like this again, if I can avoid it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""As your homework, you are not to use your Semblance for the next two weeks unless you are in extreme danger or I pass you, understand?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Understood." She grabbed a water bottle from her bag and started chugging. Even going as far as to pour a bit on herself to cool off and mend some of the minor burns she got from the fire./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Now on to some other matters," Claret wrapped her chain back around her waist, "I've heard that you and Azure are sneaking around after curfew."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia started choking, "How'd you know about that?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Did you really think we wouldn't be watching the dorms during a time a crisis?" Claret sat down next to her, "So, why are you two so adamant about getting captured?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"After a few coughs of excess water Zinnia shrugged, "Azure wants to go looking for him, just to have a couple extra people out there looking for the creep." Claret motioned for her to continue, "She would sneak out alone if I didn't follow her, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her when I could've been there to help."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You're certainly devoted to your partner. What about the other two?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They wanted no part of it. Roxy wanted us to stay away and let the city figure it out, and Eris definitely didn't want to leave her alone, so we split into our original pairs. Eris and Roxy would help by trying to piece together information we know and we would try to catch the perp in the act."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""And why couldn't you just let us handle it?" Claret sounded frustrated but reigned her voice back to listen./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia chose her words carefully, noticing her shift in attitude. "We weren't going to attack, first of all." Claret only seemed to enrage further, "We wanted to help. It's as simple as that. Things weren't getting better and the kidnapper is still unknown, so we thought he might slip up and we could sneak a peek."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""While I do appreciate both of your em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"courage/em but I do not want to have the deaths of two more of my students on my mind, especially ones with such potential. So, do us a favor and stick to the curfew, are we clear?" She spoke through a clenched mouth./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yes." Zinnia gave a half nod./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm sorry, yes isn't good enough. I want to know how clear you are."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Crystal clear." Zinnia stiffened when Claret stood up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Good, now do you have any questions that won't raise my blood pressure?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I have a question, but I can't guarantee you won't want to pound me into the dirt if I ask."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Of course you do." She sat back down and took a few calming breaths. "Ask anyway, I'll try to hold back."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What's Professor Solanum's deal?" She asked bluntly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The question caught Claret off guard and she stared at her with a blank expression, "You're going to have to be a little more specific."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I mean, he's a mess. He looks like he hasn't slept in years, walks around with a limp on his poorly made foot, and seems to have nothing but contempt for everyone. But, I've seen him move faster than my eyes can track and felt his overwhelming presence that is completely opposite of his appearance." She watched Claret give a gentle nod but she didn't respond, "I just want to know if he's trustworthy, at least as much as Roxy has in him."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm aware of Roxy's relationship with the Doctor, and to answer your question, I don't know anymore." She sighed heavily, "He's changed over the years. And none of it for the better."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'm going to want a little more explanation please? That's just as vague as my impression of him."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I knew him, once. He was one of my closest friends. We hung out a lot, drank at the local bars, even went to my wedding. He certainly wasn't the most outgoing person, and he wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, but he was happy." She looked up at the clouds passing above, "The Castor I knew back then had more integrity than I could put together in my life."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So what happened to him? He looks like he drags himself out of a bar to get to school."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Claret chuckled, "That's something he's always had, actually. He never could quite get his clothes together, always rushed and messy. If he ever comes here in a smoothed out suit, I'll know he's gone for good." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So what about everything else? You said he was happy." She felt bad for prying, but her curiosity got the better of her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""A few years ago, he went out on a survey mission with his team. It was only supposed to be a few days, survey an overrun village for survivors and clear out any excess Grimm." She shifted her gaze from the clouds to the dirt, "He came back alone and broken."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""His team didn't make it?" Now she really felt bad for digging this up./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""His report indicated several abnormal Grimm, and what he coined as a 'super pack' of Grimm following them or approximately five normal packs worth of small Grimm in one."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Abnormal Grimm?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Nuckelavee, Beringel, Sphinx, Geist, usually the ones who aren't seen in packs. They got in too close and got pulled into a frenzy. The report said they were able to take out three of the abnormal ones, and probably a third of the pack before exhaustion took over and they lost their first member. Then they fell one at a time and only managed superficial damage to the rest of their numbers. Castor… I mean Professor Solanum managed to retreat, lost his foot in the mess and made it back to an airship, which crashed just outside of Bostra."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Geez, a mission gone wrong and a shipwreck?" She shuddered internally at the thought, "Where's Bostra?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""It's an abandoned town in Vale, pretty far from Beacon, managed to get hit by bandits and the Grimm that followed finished the poor souls. Anyway, he showed up three months later missing his foot and the rest of his team. He was crushed by his grief, but he never started to heal. He imploded, started living outside the city and turned into a hermit."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Zinnia shook her head in disbelief, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have judged him so quick."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Claret put up her hand, "No, your instincts are probably good enough to know he's not normal. You see, I went to visit him regularly, trying to break him out of his shell. He changed more than I thought, every time I went back, he was more and more different. Finally, I stopped recognizing him as the great doctor I once knew and let him be. Then he comes back to the school just after I had finally given up on him. He still has some of his old mannerisms; his love of teaching apparently held up since he still gives good advice, but he's a broken, empty man."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""So he's gone crazy, but is still trying to help us? This is more complex than I thought it was going to be."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You and me both. We even searched his house on the grounds he might be the kidnapper, but we found nothing but a messy hut." The shadows of the clouds covered the stadium grounds, "I wonder if he hates me for not trusting him. What I'm trying to let you understand from all of this, is he's a fragment of his former self and if that fragment is anything like he was, then he still may be the most kindhearted professor here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's unsettling, but good to know… I think." She waited a minute for Claret to have some time to reflect, "One more question about him, if you don't mind."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Might as well, what is it?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""How does he move so fast? I could at least track your movements, and even react to them, if only a little. But it's like he isn't Human, er, Faunus, whatever he is. Is it his Semblance or something?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's one of the things that still bothers me. After he came back, he was broken, but he moved with so much more purpose and precision. He's had a couple of outbursts, just some minor scraps like the one in the courtyard a couple weeks back, but he still managed to stop from seriously injuring anyone. He was never much of a fighter, and when he did fight he couldn't hold a candle to most of the Hunters around his class. Now, it's like he's possessed when he fights. Truthfully, he's almost too fast for me to keep track of, still not as strong, but he's way faster than he used to be."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's even more unsettling, I'm not sure if this cleared up my concerns or not if I'm being honest."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Please just keep in mind, everything he's done has been for the benefit of his students and the city, even if he's not perfectly sound right now."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'll keep that in mind." Zinnia thought about what she was told and felt Claret grab her shoulder./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Anything else you want to talk about? Want to know more about me or my husband?" She was glowing with energy again. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"No, thanks Prof." She felt the grip tighten, "I will ask you later, though I promise. I just needed to know, for Roxy and for myself." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Now. You will stop going out after curfew, understand?" She gripped harder and looked her in the eyes, "If we find you out again, we'll drag you back to the dorm and put you under house arrest. Are we clear?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Yes." Zinnia tried nodding, but was held in place by her immense grip./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What did I say about clarity?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Crystal clear, sir!" Zinnia said with exaggerated vigor./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Claret sighed and let her go, "Ok smartass, I'll let you off the hook. Remember your homework, for all your classes, and I'll set up training days when you can test yourself again."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Am I free to go, then?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""You are free." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Thanks Auntie!" She backed away from the incoming swat and grabbed her bag, "See you later!"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Claret shook her head and grabbed her hammer out of the ground. "Auntie huh?" She chuckled lightly to herself while she brought out her scroll and pulled up a call. "Send the next victim in, they've got a tough act to follow."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""This is an impressive sight, I admit."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"A waterfall poured in from the side of the large outdoor room, flowing between rocks and under a stone bridge that connected to a cobblestone path. All of this was surrounded by sand and trees, raked perfectly into circular waves./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Meditation is one of the many ways we Huntresses can help figure out our Semblances, and this is the most peaceful room I have authority over. We are going to start here, and if all of my other methods fail we can always resort to brute force."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"The Professor was sporting her usual bright yellow clothes, and was stepping over the sand on the path under a large willow tree. "It's my duty to you, my students, to help you find, control, and master your Semblance as well as your Aura if need be." She pulled out her scroll and motioned Roxanne to a large stone pedestal under the tree. "Sit here and I'll start with some questions."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Roxanne sat down and took in her surroundings, "I can see why you like this place. Do you do the raking by yourself?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Not always." she scrolled through some files and opened a folder, "Usually it's the students' jobs to rake it for their meditations, but I do find myself sprucing the place up from time to time."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Um…" Roxanne started but shook it off, "Never mind."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What? You can speak your mind here. I know you and Doctor Solanum spend a lot of time together, but I hope you can see me as someone else to confide in."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I'll ask a bit later, you said you have questions?" She shrank back and offered a timid smile./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Don't force yourself, but please be aware everything you say to me will be confidential, if that helps." She focused on her scroll for a moment and cleared her throat. "What do you know about Semblances? Give me a brief summary."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""They are unique abilities that use our Aura to help Hunters fight, and most people believe they manifest as a reflection of our Soul or vice versa."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Correct. While we may not know why we are gifted with these powers, it is an absolute that those with significant mastery over their Aura have Semblances, but they are hard to unlock and some may never find theirs." She crouched on her stone step and traced one of the lines in the sand, "Do you know the current theory on Semblances, and how they are categorized?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Categorized? I thought they were unique?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Unique doesn't mean without boundaries." She stood up tall and looked up at the large willow next to them, "We have an umbrella theory for Semblances, and while it's still a work in progress, it's certainly held up over the years. I take it you haven't read these chapters in your book yet?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Roxanne frowned, "Sorry, had other things on my plate."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's fine, most students won't even touch the thing. Anyway, we've set them into three primary categories. Augmentation, manipulation, and projection, or AMP for short." Her scroll deployed a small hologram displaying the letters 'AMPi' and separated into a vertical list./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""What about the i?" Roxanne watched the i disappear under the list./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""That's Information, I'll get to that after these main three." The 'A' pushed the other letters out of the way and spun in place, "This, as are all of these, speaks for itself. Augmentation covers anything that changes your own abilities or anything you come in contact with. Usually this is presented in the form of physical enhancements, like enhanced speed or strength."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Kind of like Zinnia's?" She thought back to Zinnia using her Semblance during the exam./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Kind of. Her Semblance is most definitely Augmentation type, although it's a little more complicated than that." The A moved up in place for an M. "Next is Manipulation, the ability to change physical and sometimes conceptual forces. Azure's gravity manipulation is a good example of this. This can range from dust, elements, forces, and in rare cases: time, space, perception, or even fate."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Fate?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Things like luck, destiny, or even free will." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""I've never heard of a Semblance like that." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"Xanthus laughed, "You probably wouldn't; they're very rare. Even in my field of study I've only seen one in person and have notes from a professor in Vale of another case." A falling leaf phased through the holographic M and was replaced by a P, "Finally, we have Projection, formally known as Astral Projection."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""This is when we form things with our Aura, like copies of ourselves and physical objects, right?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Correct again. Projection is one of the more versatile types. It's unpredictable and comes in many different forms, literally. You can form anything from a full body copy, to weapons, or just a ball of light." She pulled the holographic 'P' down and put away her scroll, "And now we come to your question of the 'i'."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanXanthus pulled at her whiskers, "This is a secondary classification, and it stands for Information. This is a theoretical subclass that is usually paired with the other main types of types. While we have had cases where Information is the only class type, we usually sort that into a main category with an emphasis on Information. This usually just gives the user info about something specific and uses it to support the Semblance as a whole."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, this is the complicated part of Zinnia's Semblance then?" Roxanne was internalizing the information with her eyes closed, "It gathers information from the movements and helps with her reflexes?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You are good at this." Xanthus clapped gleefully, "Now that we have that out of the way, what do you know about Flair?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Flair of a Semblance?" She shook her head, "I've got no clue."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's not necessarily important, but it is the effect that appears when using the Semblance. Azure has her blue rings and Eris has her shimmering for example. This is believed to be a physical representation of the Aura bleeding off the target."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"But not all Semblances have this Flair, right? Zinnia doesn't seem to glow or anything."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That's because the bleeding is minimal. Her Semblance doesn't consume enough Aura to produce a visible effect, but technically, there could be. Sometimes the Flair shows in the form of concentration or even physical effects like headaches or physical strain in place of Aura bleeding, especially when the Semblance is more physically taxing than spiritually draining. Sometimes the flair changes the user's vision."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The more you know, I guess. But what does this have to do with me finding my Semblance?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Usually, if you start showing signs of Flair, you may be using your Semblance without knowing it. This usually is the most unique part about your Semblance and reflects your Soul more visually than conceptually. Have you ever seen your Aura act in a way it shouldn't?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was a long pause before Roxanne started speaking again, "Yes. I assume you know that I have an Aura condition?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, you have about half that of a normal student. That amount you have shouldn't be a problem in finding your Semblance, if you are worried about that." She saw Roxanne relax a little, "Semblances usually only take a small fraction of your full power. You may not be able to use it as much as most would, unless it takes a very minimal amount to use, but you should still be able to manifest it without a problem."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So how does this meditation work?" She was visibly nervous and her words were shaky./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You will think about your Soul, your personality. You will reflect on your virtues, your vices, your desires, and your fears." She sat down across from her, "Once you have a grasp on who you are, we can begin to narrow down what your soul is capable of. Sometimes it'll even pop out while you are meditating."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I have some concerns about this." Roxanne sat cross legged and looked at the sand, "I've tried meditation before, not for Semblance purposes, but it always ends up doing more harm than good."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll be here to help you along the way. If there's something holding you back I'll try and push you through it. It might be something you haven't been able to get past, a regret or trauma usually." She studied Roxanne's uncertainty, "I'll be monitoring your Aura levels for a spike, or any anomalies. It won't hurt to try."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I've heard that before." She sounded bitter, but still managed to squeeze out some positivity./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Take a deep breath and close your eyes." Roxanne did as she was told and once she was breathing in a peaceful rhythm she began, "What is it you feel you excel at most?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My strength. Physically, I am proud of how much power I can bring out and that it's a result of all my hard work."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What, mentally, is your strongest trait?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I…" she thought for a few moments and exhaled slowly, "I believe my discipline is my greatest strength, it's what I worked on since I was little."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanXanthus wrote this down, "What made you need so much self-restraint? Not that it's bad to have such a skill, but you sound like it was necessary rather than desired." When there was no answer, she tried another path, "What are you most afraid of?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm afraid of hurting everyone around me."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What makes you think you'll hurt anyone?" She stayed quiet and shook her head. Xanthus sighed and moved on, "What is your greatest weakness?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was another hesitation, "I avoid my friends, dodge important questions, and lie to protect myself and others."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you have trouble trusting others? Why are your secrets so important that you must burden only yourself with them?" There were no answers, only a grunt and a lowered head. "What do you treasure the most?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My team. My friends. I would do anything to protect them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What do you hate the most?" Xanthus looked up and found her struggling with something. She said nothing, instead a deep rumble came from her. Xanthus's hair stood on end and she felt a wave of primal fear wash over her, "Ok, let's skip that one for now."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne didn't stop growling and she seemed to be concentrating directly on her face, even with her eye closed. "What do you love?" She tried to steady her nerves, but the intensity of Roxanne's blind glare kept her in constant alert./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nothing… I don't know." She spoke first quietly, then it shifted harsh and angry./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Why do you care so much about your friends if you don't love them?" She tried prodding more, at the risk of intensifying her sudden foul mood./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanClaws scraped the stone beneath Roxanne and her peaceful face twisted into pained concentration. She clutched her head with one hand and dug her claws deep into the stone with the other. After a minute of silence Roxanne pulled her claws back in and took some deep breaths. "Stop…" She was speckled with a cold sweat, "We need to stop now, I'm obviously frightening you. I don't need to see to know you're afraid."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe looked over her face, "How can you tell? Your eye is still closed."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I can sense it from here, it's instinctual, and something I'm very used to feeling from others." She opened her eye and started to get up. "I told you this was a mistake. I should go."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you want to know why I was afraid?" Xanthus said as Roxanne stepped next to her./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne looked down at her and saw pure determination, "Why?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Quite frankly, I'm a coward. Always have been. I found my Semblance, which is essentially a speed boost, by running away from Grimm. My soul, my Semblance, my entire being is a coward." She smiled gently, "I am not a Huntress. I am just a professor. I refused to fight because I couldn't, I was always too afraid. So I turned to knowledge as a way to fight back."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You aren't a Huntress?" Roxanne sat on the small stepping stone once more./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"No, and I'm not ashamed of it. I fully accept that I am not a fighter. I can kill a couple small Grimm, maybe a Creep or a Beowolf, but I'm useless in an actual fight." She pulled her legs in and hugged them, "I may be afraid, but I'm not afraid of you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You are clearly afraid of me, I could practically smell it off you!" Roxanne rumbled./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I am afraid for you, not of you." She looked at Roxanne with a resolute glare, "I used to be in a similar position to yours, except it was because I found my Semblance." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I doubt you were in anything like what I'm going through." She spoke with hostility./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I don't know what you are going through, exactly. But I know you are in conflict with yourself and this is preventing you from breaking through to your potential, and more importantly, it's hurting you a great deal."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne flinched, "I don't know what to do." She finally relented./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You need to let someone else help you with whatever burden you seem to be carrying. If not me, then tell your team, they need to know if something is weighing you down. That weight will eventually be too much to move, and you'll have to make a choice. Tell someone and break the chain or stay anchored and live your life in constant pain and paranoia."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Azure's been telling me the same thing. I told her I need time to prepare, but I don't think I've actually prepared at all, I've just been putting it off, hoping they'd just let it go."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanXanthus reached across and grabbed her shoulder, "Well, she's right. You need to come to terms with who you are, and telling your team your story might be the first step to accepting that fact." She released her and watched a smile form, "I should mention, I am concerned about your Aura. It was fluctuating up and down like crazy, and I don't know what caused it."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You asked me why I needed such discipline. I was told its part of my Aura deficiency."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter muttering to herself for a bit, Xanthus rose an eyebrow, "Who told you this?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"My guardian when I was living in Vale. He told me it was a side effect of my condition."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think differently." She looked over the chart and marked a few points, "I think whatever is setting you off like that could be the barrier that's keeping your Semblance locked. It's like it's trying to activate but it can't and you're struggling with that conflict." She set her scroll to the side, "It's the only thing that can explain these fluctuations. Usually Aura spikes like these are from instability both in Aura and Soul."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne rubbed her temples, "Argh!" She fell backwards onto the sand, "I need to tell them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"While I am curious about what is bothering you so much, I'm sure you want to tell your team before me and I'll respect that, but you have to tell them soon. It's tearing you apart, even I can see that just by spending a few minutes with you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRoxanne stayed quiet for a couple minutes, "When's our first break from classes?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you don't count this unorthodox period of one on one teaching a break, then it would be next week, you'll have a couple days off while the professors meet and discuss field training for the students."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Then my homework will be to figure this out by then. Not including anything you give me of course." Roxanne passed her hand over the sand and drew a few different shapes./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That will be my official homework and only that. Now you can focus on what you need to do." Xanthus watched her contemplate and waited for her response in silence./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Alright, I have my motivation. Now what do we do?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;""Now! We shouldn't stop there. If meditation won't work, we can try the waterfall, raking, or brute force."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What's brute force?" Roxanne gathered herself and tried to get back into a normal mindset./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We throw things at you until something works. Essentially, we'll shock you with electricity, maybe give you a candle, or have you focus on reinforcing something. Then, we keep going through the list until something works."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How about we try the rake?" Roxanne backed away from the thought of being shocked and burned. "I think I just messed up a spot or two."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I like your style," She laughed, "I never like using brute force, it just feels wrong."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sorry for not giving you much to work with."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nonsense! I have plenty of notes to sift through, if we don't get anywhere today I'll keep narrowing it down until something works. Sometimes you need an immense amount of stress or a jumpstart to get you in the right mindset. Or it can just happen one day, everyone is different. It's a lengthy process for some, but I have a feeling you'll find yours sooner rather than later, and breaking that mental block will certainly help."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Thanks, Professor. I'll try to keep my spirits high." She offered a sincere smile and grabbed hold of the rake. "Now, how do I do this without getting footprints all over the place?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Good shot." Professor 'Rusty' Claret cheered from behind his range finder. "A little more to the left and it would have been perfect. How's the recoil?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It hurts my shoulder." Eris said rubbing her sore arm, "I know why I should have a sniper, but learning a completely different weapon is harder than I thought."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanRusty rolled to his side and looked over the weapon, "I think it suits you perfectly, if my opinion matters here." He grabbed a tool and turned a couple knobs on it. "We can bring back the recoil, but you'll lose power."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I think it's got versatility, but I can't seem to grasp the sniper part. Why can't I just improve the weapon I already use?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Well, you could, but I think you should consider your strengths and weaknesses during combat." He motioned to the gun and looked through his scope to the metal targets resetting down the range./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanFiring another round, Eris watched the bullet hit short in the dirt, "I have my invisibility, so long range blasts are better for my cover and my physical attributes aren't exactly great, so close range is a bad place for me to fight."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"But, that's why this gun has a versatile loadout." He marked the wind, "Two clicks up. Hold. Fire." The shot rang out and hit the target almost exactly on the mark. "Good hit. You have a sniper, an assault rifle, and a submachinegun. It's actually a pretty ingenious design too."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEris rotated her shoulder and pulled away from the scope, "Okay, but why three different modes? Why not just assault and sniper? I'm not good in close combat anyway."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"The submachinegun compensates for your lack of physical strength with sheer firepower, so if you find yourself in a situation like that you have a way out, I don't see why you're having such a hard time with this."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm not, really. It just takes a while for me to adapt. I'm a bit neurotic when it comes to old habits."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Frustration can be a good teacher if you understand what mistakes you're making." He closed his book and sat up, "Besides the difficulty curve, how does it feel?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It's pretty solid, honestly. I just need to get used to sniping, the submachinegun is fine, although I might reduce the recoil a bit too, and the assault rifle is almost the same, just better damage output."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So you're happy with it?" Rusty asked with a smirk./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, I'm happy with my new gun." She reloaded and adjusted the scope a nudge down the slider. "Mind if I ask you some questions while I try to find the sweet spot on this thing?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm happy to answer any questions for my assistant. What's on your mind?" He stretched and laid down next to his scope again. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe sniper clicked into place and laid waiting for instructions, "Well, I have three questions and I doubt you'll be very happy to answer any of them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Shoot… I mean ask anyway, don't shoot yet." He marked a couple numbers on his pad and watched the range flag./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAfter a thumbs up and a shot, Eris talked while Rusty was setting up his next directions. "So, I want to know what you guys know about the kidnappings, like if there's a suspect or any defining features. I was hoping you'd be able to fill in the missing information you aren't giving the public."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And why would I have information about that? Two clicks left, one up."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe followed and fired again, "You are on the security team with your wife, aren't you? I would assume everyone would be equally informed."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe tapped on the book with his pen, "You're right, this is something I don't want to answer. What are you going to do with this information?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I want to put Roxanne's mind at ease, I think she's paranoid that this could be the same person from Vale. She won't admit it, but I don't think she fully believes this isn't a copycat, even though she knows he's dead. I swear I won't use this to try and capture him, as I'm sure you're already aware Azure and Zinnia were skulking about trying to do just that." He grunted in confirmation and she fired again, landing a bullseye./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nice shot, switch to far target on the left at two seven three degrees. One click down, one click right." He scribbled on his book, "Well, you might be disappointed to know, we know nothing more than the public. Usually we omit things to ease the public, but this time we know nothing. I'm sorry."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I believe you." She exchanged the magazine for a special loadout, "Switching to gravity rounds, I want to see maximum recoil." She made a test shot and nearly lost her grip on the gun. "Ok, very heavy recoil." She made notes on her own scroll and continued testing with more care./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'll let you know what we find, if we ever do find anything. How about those other questions, then?" He made a note on the pad and drew a quick sketch of the weapon's grip./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Do you at least know if this is a copycat situation? Do you know motive or trends besides Faunus victims?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We are leaning towards not a copycat case, the M.O. doesn't fit the previous cases."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanAnother shot nearly ripped the gun from her hands, but she held tight this time. "Really? What makes you so sure?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"There haven't been any bodies left for us to find." Eris glanced at him, "The Grimm Butcher, the media's name for the guy in Vale, always gave the bodies back after he was done with them."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Always in pieces, missing limbs or organs, I read about that." She shot again and decided to switch out for fire Dust this time to give her arms a rest./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"It was his calling card, they said. He would take the victims, cut off limbs or take organs and feed them to the Grimm. Then, he'd send the body back after it was torn up enough."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah, I read about the returning of the bodies, it never made any sense to me. What did he do with the parts?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"That was the weird part, actually. We don't know. His home was clean, his hideout was cleaner, and we never found the pieces he took or any notes."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And you're sure he's dead?" Eris made notes that the fire ammo needed more adjustments due to increased drag./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"They found his corpse. It was pretty mangled, but it was confirmed." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Roxanne said so too." She soaked in the information and changed out for heavy rounds, made of a mixture of earth and ice dust./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She seems to know a lot about this case. I heard she was involved at some point but never got the full story."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She was, but she won't tell me to what extent though." Eris pushed that aside, "Hear me out. We have a running theory about this guy."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm sure you do. I'll listen, any information can help after all. Fresh views and all." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"What if this is a copier and there's a reason the bodies aren't being given back." Eris watched him hold his head on his hands, "It seemed like he needed the parts for something, we don't know what, but he seemed to be collecting different pieces. The parts were taken from the same place each time until he switched and then he never repeated that part. And the Butcher was a scientist too."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Is that true?" He pulled out his scroll and pulled up notes on the Vale killer. "You're right, but if he needed these for something, where did they go, and for what?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We think he disposed of whatever he was using them for, which is where the feeding Grimm part comes back into play, but if he's not giving back the bodies... What if there's nothing to give back?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"So, he's moved on to full bodies instead of just pieces? That would make fit the motivation and give us at least a pattern."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEris nodded, "Does that mean we helped?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes. Yes it does." He was tapping on his scroll thinking about something when he snapped his attention back to Eris. "Do you have any more questions that aren't quite as dark as these? I don't mind sharing, but it's really put a damper on the energy here."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm afraid my last question won't be any lighter." She shot once and flinched as the gun went straight back into her shoulder at a weird angle. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ok, one more of your serious questions then you have to ask me something to balance it out."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Deal." She reset and fired again, this time without the slipup. "It's about Roxanne."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I'm afraid I don't know much, but I'll try." He turned to her, "What about her?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe stopped firing and sat up to address him fully, "Do you know anything about her past? Like where she came from, who her parents are, any traumatic events?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This sounds like something she should tell you." His eyes dimmed, "I don't like talking behind someone's back."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I know! But I can't get anything out of her! It's like she's hiding something, and she's avoiding the question like it would kill her."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"If you had to ask anyone about this, why not Solanum, even after everything I just said, he's still been taking care of Roxanne for weeks. He probably knows everything."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yes, but between you and me, I don't trust him, not fully anyway." She bowed her head, "I just can't shake this bad feeling about him, even if it's just his constant depressing presence. There's something wrong with him."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThere was a heavy sigh from her side, "I never really got along with him, but even if he's changed since he lost his team I still believe he's a good person."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You knew him?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Before he came back looking like he'd jumped through a wood chipper? Yeah, although my wife was the one who hung out with him. But it's not like we hated each other. We had a good working relationship, but we didn't go out for drinks or what have you."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"And you said he lost his team? That makes a little more sense now. Maybe I should give him a chance, I feel like I've judged him too hard."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Just don't bring it up with my wife. She'll put you through the wringer if you ask her."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEris shuddered, "Noted. So you won't spill any beans on Roxanne huh? I guess it is pretty underhanded of me to try and ask that without her permission."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I get that you're just looking out for her, but you need to let her go at her own pace. Even if it's frustrating, you just need to be patient." He chuckled to himself, "You have no idea how long it took for me to get Tawny to open up to me. She was the embodiment of rage and impatience, but the more I got to know her the more she opened up, and stopped breaking my things."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"I guess I should just wait and listen then. I just want to know what's bugging her so much."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"She'll come around." He laid back and stretched, "How's the gun coming along? Almost done calibrating?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"This will probably take a few more hours. I just can't seem to find a perfect balance." She unloaded the magazine and pulled the gun back in to tinker with it, "I have to ask something good next, right?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe smirked, "Yes, now you have to make up for these dismal questions you've subjected me to."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEris thought for a moment and smiled, "How about how you and your wife first met?" /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHe burst out laughing, "I bet Tawny's going to be mad you asked me instead of her first!" He steadied his laughter and nodded, "Alright, it's one hell of a story, and I'll be sure to leave out some of the more… inappropriate scenes for you." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"How much could have happened on a first meeting?" Eris was shocked at his response. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You have no idea what can of beans you just opened."/span/p 


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